Fluttershy, the Pokémon Whisperer
by Pete the Rock
Summary: A spell from a mysterious book sends Fluttershy to the Pokémon World but that's not the only problem. Rated for mild violence. PonyShyShipper
1. A Little Booking Problem

_Disclaimer: No ownership of Pokémon or My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic  
Summary: A spell from a mysterious book sends Fluttershy to the Pokémon World but that's not the only problem. Rated for mild violence.  
Shipping: PonyShyShipper_

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_**Fluttershy, the Pokémon Whisperer**_

_Chapter 1: A Little Booking Problem_

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A black book. What was a black hard cover book doing in the grass in the middle of a forest? There was no title. Three little ponies were approaching the spot. One was a yellow pony with a ribbon in it's reddish mane. The second was a white horned pony with a violet mane which had pink streaks. The last was an orange pony with wings and a fuchsia mane. The white pony had fishing poles in it's backpack. "Are you sure fishing will help us find our cutie marks, Sweetie Belle?" the yellow one wondered with a little girl's voice. Cutie Marks?

"Well, a couple of ponies, none of whose names I should mention, told me that sometimes we need to relax and patient," Sweetie Belle suggested. "Fishing is a great way to understand patience." Not a bad idea. The other two knew who one of the unnamed ponies Sweetie Belle mentioned.

"Sweetie Belle, what can't your big sister do?" the winged pony questioned. "I mean, besides flying." The three little fillies chuckled at the winged one's comment.

"Oh, Scootaloo!" the yellow one laughed. The laughing for her lasted another second when they came upon the book that laid in the middle of their path. "Guys, look!" Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo stopped as they saw their fellow filly hold up. "Take a gander at that!" The three saw the black book on the grass, surrounding the hard cover.

"What's a book doing on the ground all alone?" Scootaloo asked. Did she think the book had legs and walked all the way to this spot? That would be weird. The yellow pony approached the cover, taking whiffs to make sure it was okay to handle, something Sweetie Belle began to fear.

"Don't open the book, Apple Bloom!" she warned. Apple Bloom wondered what the deal was that Sweetie Belle told her to keep the lid shut, literally about the book in question.

"I agree with Sweetie Belle," Scootaloo backed. "It could be someone's diary that shouldn't be viewed by anyone." It made some sense but if it was a diary, why would it need a hard cover? Paperback would be more appropriate.

"We can't just leave it in the middle of the forest," Apple Bloom argued. "Who knows when Rainbow Dash will forget the rain once and this book's ruined." Say what? That's when Apple Bloom had an idea. "I know! We can take it to Twilight Sparkle! She's got a whole library of books that she knows. Maybe this was one she loaned and didn't get back!" Twilight Sparkle? Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo had the notion that Apple Bloom was onto something.

"Yeah, it's worth a shot!" Sweetie Belle acknowledged before her horn began to shimmer. Then the book which floated into her bag. "So much for a day of fishing but this could be important." The three ponies trotted back to a village which was full of different ponies galloping around like...well, we'll eventually stumble to them. The trio arrived at one of the larger tree houses in the village where Apple Bloom knocked on the door. What opened it wasn't a pony. Nope, it was a purple tiny dragon with a green underbelly. It was a tad stunned to view visitors to here.

"Oh, the Cutie Mark Crusaders!" he gulped. Crusaders? "How can I help you three?" Scootaloo voiced up for the other two.

"We found a book in the forest nearby," she explained. Sweetie Belle got her horn and the book to glow as she "handed" the book to the dragon. "We were wondering if this was one of Twilight Sparkle's books." The dragon looked at the title-less book, unsure about opening it.

"I can't...really say that this is missing from our library. It _is_ interesting to find a book out somewhere where it didn't really belong." No title on the cover, no title on the binding...the only way would be to look in it. "None of you bothered to peek inside?" The fillies shook their heads in denial.

"It could be some pony's diary, Spike," Apple Bloom guessed. Spike had doubts that it was a diary.

"The books pretty big for a diary. It might be a new spell book Twilight ordered." A spell book? The voice coming in would want to beg to differ.

"Why would I need a new spell book, Spike?" spoke a purple horned pony with a dark violet mane fitted with a couple pink streaks. She also had prints of sparkles around her tail. Sparkles? As in Twilight Sparkle?

"H-Hey, Twilight!" Twilight saw the book in Spike's hand, becoming rather suspicious about the contents.

"What's that?" Spike shuttered for an answer but Apple Bloom spoke up about it.

"We found that in the forest when we were going fishing," she clarified. "We wondered if this was one of yours missing from here." Twilight peered at the enormous collection of books on the shelves. There was a shelf that was bare but highly doubted this was one of those books.

"The only books I'm missing are the ones I loaned to Rainbow Dash. I'm sure she's close to finishing that series." Spike placed the book in question on a mantle where Twilight began to observe it. Using her horn, she read some of the contents inside. "I should have guessed. This is a spell book. But the spells are rather advanced." While the identification of the book was safe, there was trouble about where it was located.

"But why would a spell book be in the middle of the forest where we would find it?" Scootaloo pointed out. That's one question that not even Twilight had an immediate answer to.

"I wish I knew. But I can tell you that there are some spells I wanna try out from this book." The notion that Twilight saw spells to experience made Spike rather uneasy.

"Are you sure you wanna do it in here?" he stuttered. "What if the spells go awry?" Twilight wasn't too worried.

"Relax, Spike. I'll find a good spot to practice these spells." That's when two winged ponies stepped into the house. One was a blue pony with a rainbow mane and a rainbow lightning bolt by her tail. The other was a bleach yellow pony with a bright pink mane which hung over one side of her head and butterflies by her tail.

"Did somebody call for a safe area for magic?" the blue pony neighed. The rest turned to see the airborne ponies. Scootaloo got excited to see her favorite pony.

"Rainbow Dash!" she cheered. The blue pony, Rainbow Dash, chuckled at the Crusader that she looked up to. Who's the other?

"Rainbow, what are you and Fluttershy doing here?" Twilight asked. Rainbow turned to Fluttershy as her answer.

"I was helping her on some overhead maneuvers in case I bust my wings like before," she tried to reason. "I mean, she has bigger concern for the animals surrounding Ponyville than I do." Planning ahead for emergencies...nothing wrong with that. She also had taken stock of the new book. "Why am I not surprised that you have a new book you're reading? More proof that you're an egghead." Twilight sneered at Rainbow with an unsettling smile. Oh, boy! "Hey, I know that look! Don't gimme that!"

"Oh, yeah? I recall a certain Pegasus pony who tried to sneak back into the hospital to read Daring Do and caused a lot of ruckus because of it." The cocky winged filly was now rather sheepish and the Crusaders were neighing in laughter. That's embarrassing.

"At least it kept you from boredom, right?" Fluttershy got in her two bits. A disturbed glare from Rainbow was a sign for her to can it.

"I could use _less_ of that!" she scowled. Twilight stopped her giggles long enough for her to detail the issue.

"Actually, I was wanting to try some new magic but room's key for safety purposes," she motioned. Rainbow remembered saying something about a safe area just a moment ago.

"Oh, yeah! We could use the race track! So much room that a screw up will be minor!" That's reassuring. Twilight pondered if this was a good idea to perform a stunt where anything could go wrong. At least nothing would be in the way.

"That does sound like an ideal spot to practice some of these new spells." She agreed to it. Spike had hopes for some of the new magic.

"Yeah, and maybe there's a spell which could make me irresistible to Rarity!" he chirped. Twilight was about to tell him to get real but Sweetie Belle delivered that to him.

"What makes you think you're worthy of my big sister?" she snapped. "Huh?" Sweetie Belle's Rarity's sister?

"Well...I-" The evil eye from Sweetie Belle forced Spike to shut his snout. Satisfied, Sweetie Belle joined the others in journeying to an oval race track on the outskirts of the village. Spike also came, much to Sweetie Belle's chagrin. Twilight was in front of everyone, trying to remember what the book told her to do.

"Every pony, I need complete silence from the gallery," she warned. "It's the first time trying it so I need full concentration." The crusaders, Rainbow, Fluttershy and Spike, despite not being a pony per say, remained quiet. Twilight focused, her horn glowing like Sweetie Belle earlier. A beam of purple shot out of Twilight's horn and enveloped a circular shape. The circle then began warping with swirls of color. The gallery couldn't hold their excitement and chided their amazement.

"I may not be a scientist but I think Twilight created a portal," Apple Bloom believed. Twilight saw the so-called portal, surprised by her own success.

"Wow!" she awed. "First time I opened a portal. I wonder where it leads to." No one would get a chance because the portal shrunk and vanished in a pop. Still. That was an impressive first effort. Apple Bloom got more interested in seeing what was on the other side.

"Try again, Twilight!" she eagerly pleaded. How could Twilight say no to that? Easy, since no one knew what dangers waited on the other side.

"Okay!" Twilight set herself up for another chance, hoping that the portal would remain opened for all to discover. The horn was aglow. Everyone was hushed...almost. Oh no!

"What's every pony doing watching Twilight?" spoke a pink pony with a curly pink mane and balloons for prints by her hide. The voice forced Twilight to spin at the crowd.

"Pinkie Pie!" she shouted, forgetting the glowing horn which fired another beam. Incoming! The beam was heading toward Fluttershy who wasn't moving fast enough. This was going to hurt. The beam hit Fluttershy...KABANG! A huge blast. A mushroom cloud rose above the track. Was everyone okay? In Fluttershy's case, her ordeal was more than just surviving the blast.

* * *

_(Fluttershy's View)_

…

"You think it's safe to move her?"

…

"I'm still wondering how she passed the gates undetected." Voices... I'm- I'm hearing voices...

"It's been awhile since we had human contact." I...need to-

"We checked her out but couldn't find anything, not even identification!" I need to open...open my eyes.

"Hold on, she's coming around!" I lifted my eyelids up and...what? What are these creatures? Walking sunflowers, pods with weeds like crowns, bouncing seeds...whatever happened to the bunnies, the birds, the squirrels?

"Where-" I hiccuped. I couldn't get my hooves down to lift my body up. One flower came over and put a leaf on me to settle down.

"Take it easy!" it spoke. This was the first time I heard a flower talk to me, let alone tell me to relax. "We're all wondering how a human like you got beyond the gates." H-Human? Wait a second, I'm a Pegasus pony, not a human!

"Hold on...I'm a pony!" A few of the living plants glared at one another, not believing me for a second. I _am _a pony!

"Could it be that she was a Ponyta?" the seed questioned. That's when a green pod with a yellow flower full of water hopped on over.

"You may disagree with all of us," it warned. "But we are being honest. Take a look!" I saw my mane, still as pink as ever. Then I saw...that's me? What happened to my face? I didn't see a snout on me but a face of a human girl. That's not suppose to be me. I checked my hooves, only they were human hands. I also found myself wearing a yellow dress, the same as the fur on my body...which wasn't there. It was skin. I...I was...human?

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED...

(A/N: Since I'm nearly done with NarutoBleachMon Tensei, I'm going to temporarily postpone RE4 until that's done.)


	2. A Humanoid Invasion

_Chapter 2: A Humanoid Invasion_

* * *

Fluttershy, human? She didn't think this was possible. Back in Ponyville, Spike and the ponies were recovering from the explosion stemming from a botched spell Twilight was performing. Rainbow, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo and Pinkie Pie began to stir after a little while.

"Oh, wow..." Twilight moaned as she turned to the rest. "Every pony okay?" Give them a few moments, the blast still appeared to be ringing in their ears.

"Guess I should have flown clear when Pinkie Pie spoke up during your spell," Rainbow admitted. Pinkie Pie sprung back up, rather cheery after what happened.

"Whoo hoo!" she screeched with glee. "Let's do it again!" Some pony's wanting an encore but Rainbow wasn't thrilled with Pinkie Pie's interruption.

"Let's not! You endangered every pony around here!" Pinkie Pie wasn't worried. Heck, she was smiling to the situation.

"What, it's nice to have some excitement going on!" Pinkie Pie wasn't getting the message according to Rainbow.

"Fluttershy, can you get her to understand-" Rainbow paused her talk when she couldn't find Fluttershy around. "Fluttershy?" The Cutie Mark Crusaders looked around the track, not finding their other Pegasus pony.

"Where's Fluttershy?" Apple Bloom wondered. The ponies and Spike looked around but there was no Fluttershy. Rainbow wondered if maybe Fluttershy possibly escaped before the spell struck. She flapped her wings to take to the air.

"I'll search around and see if Fluttershy got out of here!" Twilight was just as worried about her friend, unbeknown about her real fate.

"Be careful, Rainbow!" she warned. Rainbow flew off while this tale heads back to the delirious pony...er, human. The plant-like creatures were cautiously looking on at Fluttershy surprised that a human was in their presence. Heck, Fluttershy couldn't believe that she, herself was human.

"Is this what a human looks like?" she wondered. Apparently, humans weren't common in Ponyville.

"Yeah, pretty much," spoke a blue creature with a green bulb on it's back. This was a serious shock for Fluttershy.

"This is the first time I've heard of a human, let alone...become one. I wonder if Twilight knows about humans. She's highly educated from Canterlot." Before the creatures could wonder who Fluttershy was mentioning, a giant blue creature with a flower that was like a palm tree on it's back stomped onto the scene, curious about the human who found herself in their forest.

"So, this is the human that had appeared," the giant discovered. Fluttershy turned her body around and tried to stand in front of the new creature. Unfortunately, her feet were new and she fell onto her tail...bone. Not the same as trotting on hooves, huh? At least the ground was soft. The other creatures bowed to this creature, a notable feeling of royalty in their sights.

"Your highness, we've checked her out and she doesn't appear to be a trainer," a pink pod with weeds protruding from it's crown figured. Trainer?

"It has been sometime since we've been in contact with a human, let alone a Pokémon trainer." Pokémon? Were these creatures Pokémon? The human comment wasn't sitting well with Fluttershy.

"I'm sorry if I have to correct you...uh, your highness," she expressed her disapproval. "But I'm actually a pony from Equestria. More over, I'm a Pegasus pony...at least, that's what I use to be." Hearing that, the lord of these creatures stuck out a green vine. Was he offering friendship to Fluttershy?

"Can you walk?" Fluttershy tried to get up again, way unsteady on her feet. When her footing gave way again, she snagged the vine and stopped from falling onto her tail. She pulled herself to standing again.

'Okay, Fluttershy. Spike could walk on his hind legs. Take it one step at a time.' She moved one foot forward. Then the other foot. Who knew walking was so difficult? She finally reached the royal Pokémon, collapsing onto it's sturdy structure. She shivered. She looked rather frightened. 'That was scary. Who knew walking wasn't as easy as Spike does it?' Has there ever been a pony that could walk on it's hind hooves? The bulb-back creature had an idea.

"I'm gonna get you something," she offered. "It's the first human who've we befriended since we've had the gates built." It scampered off without much of a warning.

"Careful, Little Wonder," Fluttershy tried to offer that warning. Little Wonder... Compared to the highness, it's fitting. The king of this forest wanted to give the "Pegasus" human a tour of his kingdom. A hand, not hoof, to the king's back helped steady Fluttershy's balance.

"I should let you know that I was once like Little Wonder," he grumbled. "I was a Bulbasaur before I evolved and grew up to be this, a Venusaur." Fluttershy seemed intrigued by Venusaur's proclamation.

"Can I still call you highness, Venusaur?" A scoff seemed like Venusaur wouldn't mind. "So the gate..." Venusaur realized that she'd be asking about it.

"In the past, trainers would enter this forest and try to take us for battles against other trainers. It became a disaster since every Pokémon that was taken out of this forest brought desolation and wilt. The trainers were unknowingly destroying the place we call home. Before the forest became a wasteland, a group of humans stopped the continuous flood of trainers. They even erected a wall to prevent these trainers from gaining access to us." The fear of losing their Pokémon brethren had humans coming out and having to protect them as a metallic bird was carrying something in it's talons. It was red. "What about you? What's Equestria?" Fluttershy took a deep breath before neighing...uh, speaking.

"I live in Ponyville which is home to many ponies, some Pegasus, some Unicorns. As we live, we receive cutie marks which indicates our lives. Mine had butterflies and cutie marks vary. We do tend to celebrate often, even when Princess Celestia visits from time to time." There's a princess in Equestria?

"Pegasus or Unicorn? No chance she's an ordinary pony."

"She's both." So, the princess had wings and a horn? Fascinating. "Anyway, the most action we see have manticores, dragons...certainly not humans. I don't think Equestria has had any run-ins with humans. I mean, I would ask Twilight Sparkle about humans." Venusaur understood the curiosity of Fluttershy when it came to humans.

"In this world, humans and Pokémon are practically hand-in-hand. You'd be surprised to see humans and Pokémon hanging around." Little did Venusaur realize that Fluttershy turned to a part of a tall wall where a boy and mouse were climbing over the gates, looking back down the other side. The boy was in a blue sweat-tee, jeans and red baseball cap while the mouse was yellow with a tail of a lightning bolt, rather similar to Rainbow Dash's cutie mark except it's a single color. The mouse was rather large. Both hopped into the forest, into forbidden territories. The sunflowers came to the attention of Fluttershy and Venusaur.

"Your highness!" they arrived in the sense of panic. There was trouble on the horizon.

"What's wrong?" Fluttershy questioned.

"There's a human who's infiltrated the gates set by the protectors!" one sunflower reported. Hearing the news of someone breaking into the forest had Fluttershy wondering if it was that boy who entered with that mouse. She needed to know.

"What did the human look like?" Venusaur asked.

"Brunette female in red and she has a Torchic!" the other sunflower explained. It was a girl? It wasn't who climbed over in Fluttershy's eyes. "We saw it talking to Little Wonder and feared she was taking her." They had every right to be concerned with another Pokémon. Venusaur chose to take charge.

"Surround her and the Torchic! We'll make sure they get punished!" The sunflowers agreed and waddled off. That brunette girl in the red bandanna and tight red t-shirt was hiding in the grass from the grasses, alongside a little orange chick. That had to be the Torchic the sunflowers described. The girl was flustered with all this attention.

"Oh, man!" she sighed to her Torchic. "I don't understand why the Pokémon are attacking me." Torchic didn't really have an answer to chirp. They tried to lay low but a cloud of sparkling orange made the girl jump in fear. "Stun Spore! We need to get outta here!" It was a trap. The Stun Spore smoked them out to where she was facing a whole lot of green seeing red, and not just her clothing. "Please, I'm begging you. I wouldn't harm anyone of you! I promise!" One small flower was acting rosy and had enough of her lip. She was about to get help.

"I'm coming, May!" voiced...hey, it's the boy Fluttershy saw and he's swinging on a vine to the girl's location. He landed perfectly on his feet in between her and the Pokémon.

"Ash! You're here!"

"And it looks like just in time!" He's certainly confident about helping May and Torchic out. The Pokémon were more enraged about more intruders into their forest. Ash had to take action and turned to his mouse. "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt to clear a path for us!"

("On it!") Pikachu readied. It leaped off before firing a stream of electricity which the Pokémon jumped out of the way, giving the humans a path.

"Quick! This way!" Ash held onto May's arm, dragging her.

"Okay!" she replied helplessly. The Pokémon recovered and gave pursuit.

"We were told that humans were forbidden from entering this place and that they'd be attacked by Grass Pokémon if the warning's ignored!" That frightened may but she was looking innocent.

"But it's not my fault!" Before May could explain her plea, sunflowers sprung out to cut their path. "Sunflora!" Ash yanked May down another path.

"This way!" As the two continued to try and leave the Pokémon in the dust, Venusaur and Fluttershy were racing to meet the human as she rode on top of the leader. Little Wonder found the two in panic.

"Your highness!" she called out. Venusaur stopped to confront the little bulbed creature.

"What's wrong, Little Wonder?" Fluttershy asked.

"That human that you're all chasing saved my life!" The human? Was it May? "That trainer isn't like the other humans! She's nice!" This became a conflict of actions. Fluttershy was willing to know the humans. Ash and May ran until they found a cliff and nearly spilled over. Now the two with their Pokémon were out of road.

"Now there's nowhere to run!" Ash huffed. If the situation was bad now, it's going to get worse as the Grass Pokémon gathered and cornered them. May tried once more to settle the Pokémon.

"Please, I had no intention of ending up here!" she begged. "I didn't want to take any of you away from here!" Torchic and Pikachu also tried to speak on her behalf. It wasn't cutting for the Pokémon.

"Doesn't look like they're in any mood to listen."

"You're right. What do we do?" They're help would come.

"Everyone, calm down!" Fluttershy ordered. The Grass Pokémon stopped and turned to the "pony" girl and Venusaur arriving to meet the humans who entered, much to the amazement of Ash and May.

"Hey, check it out!" Ash saw the giant Pokémon and couldn't believe his eyes.

"A Venusaur!" he recognized. That's not what May was looking at.

"Forget the Venusaur and see it's rider!" Ash looked at Venusaur's back and found Fluttershy. This was a stunner for Ash. There was a human who had befriended the Grass Pokémon despite the contradiction.

"I was told about the humans being forbidden from being here! How's she able to-" Fluttershy dismounted Venusaur...and fell onto her tailbone again. Ash and May tried to hold back their laughter but it was hard when Ash had to joke. "First day on your feet?" Little did he know about who or what Fluttershy was.

"Oddly enough, it is," she responded. She rose back onto her feet. Still a bit unsteady, she faced the trainers. "Now, what are you doing here? You aren't...capturing any of my friends." Far from that. May stepped up to Fluttershy to explain her breaking in.

"Me and my friends got lost trying to get to the next town when a Skarmory carried me over here," she told her tale. "I was attacked and used Torchic in defense." The Torchic beaked to agree with it's master. Fluttershy began to believe this girl was thrown into this forest against her will but wondered about the Skarmory.

"Skarmory?" Ash pulled out a hand-held device and hit a few buttons as he approached Fluttershy. The Pokémon stepped in front of Ash's walkway, not wanting to let another human be with their human. "It's okay, everyone. Let him show me what he's offering." Reluctantly, the Pokémon stepped aside as May and their Pokémon were astonished at how controlled the Grasses were in her command. Ash handed the device to Fluttershy with a picture of a silver steel vulture.

"Skarmory, the Armor Bird Pokémon," it computed with a female voice. "Skarmory's wings are as sharp as a sword and could cut into thick rocks while flying at near 100 miles an hour." The Skarmory was scary to realize.

("Skarmory are territorial like we are,") Venusaur further informed. ("No doubt it scented something off the girl.") The thought that Skarmory would abduct a human shuttered Fluttershy.

"But why would a Skarmory bring a girl into this area to begin with?" she questioned. "Is there a nest around here?" Interesting question.

("There may be.") Ash and May were further amazed that Fluttershy was able to communicate with Venusaur like the big Pokémon was human itself.

"How does that girl understand Venusaur?" May gawked. Not even Ash was sure. Fluttershy then looked at Ash and remembered him entering this valley, only understanding why he trespassed.

"Then the reason you entered here was to rescue her?" she pondered.

"Yeah," he snapped a reply. Fluttershy figured that these two were close but understood his intent. Little Wonder entered the scene and saw the crowd, wondering if anyone was hurt. Ash and May saw it too. "Hey, a Bulbasaur!" Little Wonder looked up to Fluttershy to tell her that May was the one who saved her.

("That's the girl who kept me from falling,") she pointed out. Fluttershy nodded to acknowledge the Bulbasaur before turning to Venusar.

"Your highness, I don't think we need to worry about these humans," she concluded. Venusaur trusted her word but used it's vines to pat down the trainers, startling the trainers.

"I think it's checking us out," May hummed. After that pat down, the vines picked Torchic up. Venusaur heard the explanation but groaned about Torchic.

"The highness disapproves of your Torchic being in these lands." Ash knew the reason.

"I know why," he spoke up. "Grass Pokémon don't like Fire Pokémon like Torchic." A note May quickly realized.

"Oh, yeah," she recalled as she snagged a red/white ball and pointed it to her chick. "Torchic, return!" Torchic turned into a red beam and entered the ball before May put it in her fanny pack. "I'm sorry for entering this forest and I promise that I wouldn't hurt anyone." Fluttershy and Venusaur finalized that Ash and May weren't going to be a problem.

"I understand," Fluttershy accepted the apology. "We'll guide you two around the area." She turned to Venusaur with an order. "Your highness, advise the others that these two can stay with us until the gates are opened." Venusaur went with Fluttershy's word and turned to the rest of the Pokémon. If Ash and May, not to mention their Pokémon, were shocked to see how one girl would be able to tame the wrath of Grass Pokémon, they weren't alone.

"Venusaur is telling the rest of the Pokémon that the twerps helped their Bulbasaur friend and that they can stay for as long as possible," spoke a white cat with an oval coin in it's forehead. "And dat's dat!" Two uniformed humans watched on with the cat. One was a female with wavy blood red hair. She wore a white mid-drift shirt with a red 'R' on it, white skirt and black thigh-high boots. One was a male with dampened blue hair. He donned a white uniform with that same red 'R' on it.

"That female twerp really has taken control of the Pokémon just by voice commands," the male awed. "She's make a great speaker for Team Rocket." The female seemed to want to agree.

"It's true what they say," she summed up. "Great minds think alike. We could take her and use her to help snag rare Pokémon." The cat gulped. Did he not like the idea.

"Now, wait a second, Jessie!" he meowed. "Dat's not Team Rocket's operation of existence! We're not kidnappers!" Jessie grinned, not worried one bit.

"We did kidnap Pikachu's twerp. What's wrong with someone like her?" She scampered off and left the other two wondering her scheme. The cat could only think something bad happening if they tried to take Fluttershy from Ash and May.

"There's some days dat I feel better in your hands, Jimmy boy."

"Appreciate the support, Meowth," James thanked before they trailed Jessie. What plans did they have in taking Fluttershy?

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED...


	3. Fierce Flutter

_Chapter 3: Fierce Flutter_

* * *

Ash, Pikachu, May and Fluttershy returned into the forest where there was a waterfall and a rock formation that made it look like a miniature mountain. The Grass Pokémon were pretty tame at locating themselves in peace. "Look at this place!" Ash awed. May and Fluttershy were equally awe-stricken with the site. "No wonder the Pokémon wanted to protect it." Fluttershy would agree.

"The Pokémon here do intend to call this place home," she explained. This would explain why they were territorial. "After all, many trainers came by and unwillingly were destroying the place by taking them from here." The note of people coming along and taking Pokémon to harm the forest implanted ire in the two trespassers.

"You must have been left in charge of this place in order to prevent more of the same," May incorrectly concluded. It would make some sense but Fluttershy wasn't even there for an hour, let alone years.

"Oh, no. I haven't been here that long! The highness has been here longer than the other Pokémon, let alone me." The perplexity on Ash's and May's faces were priceless. They knew Fluttershy meant Venusaur who was watching the humans and Pokémon from above...but to hear that she hadn't been here for any longer than say a new arrival baffled them.

("You're not from around here?") Pikachu gasped.

"No, I'm afraid not." Disbelief read the faces of even Ash's Pokémon. They don't know how complicated this was. "As a matter of fact, this isn't my real form." Neither of the three were sure how to take that info.

"Maybe we should do introductions," Ash urged, trying to see if her name may help this mystery. "After all, we didn't get a chance to greet with all the trouble we caused. I'm Ash." Pikachu was next.

("I'm Pikachu, Ash's partner,") he squeaked.

"I'm May," she introduced. Fluttershy's turn.

"Well, uh... M-My name is..." she stuttered before trying to hideher name under her breath. "...Fluttershy." May didn't quite hear her name. Neither did Ash but Pikachu's big ears picked it up.

("Cute name,") he chirped. It wouldn't be too much of a surprise for Pikachu to catch onto hearing her name. Suddenly...

("Everyone!") grunted Little Wonder. The group turned to see the Bulbasaur with a yellow flower wrapped in it's vine.

"Little Wonder?" Fluttershy shyly gasped. Bulbasaur extended the vine and wanted to give the flower...to May.

("For you for saving me.") May seemed stunned that the Pokémon who were going to beat her up now have shown a soft side with this little gift.

"Thank you!" she praised as she was given the flower. Even Ash was proud of Little Wonder's gratitude.

"That was so nice," he complimented. "You remind me of my own." Fluttershy wondered if maybe Ash had a Bulbasaur...or Little Wonder of his own.

"You have a Little Wonder, too?" she questioned. Ash knew what Fluttershy was mentioning.

"I do...but he's back in Prof. Oak's ranch taking care of the Pokémon." Could he show it? Little Wonder used the vine to snag May's arm and began to pull the brunette away.

"Whoa!" she huffed. "Where are you taking me?" Ash and Fluttershy started to tail May and Little Wonder to wherever the Bulbasaur was taking her. "You're pretty strong for a little thing!" The ruler watched before resting his big head on the rocks. Taking a break from the Pokémon World, back in Ponyville, Twilight and Spike were touring the village to see if Fluttershy may have gone back home. Ponies were doing their business, oblivious to the scene outside the village. Twilight, momentarily forgetting her business back in Ponyville, seemed remorseful.

"I shouldn't have tried to do that spell in front of every pony," she confessed. From what happened, Pinkie Pie disrupted the spell which caused Twilight to aim the beam at Fluttershy. Spike was forgiving to Twilight.

"It was a book the Crusaders found and you got interested," he comforted. It didn't make Twilight feel any better. Rainbow flew in and saw the pair still somewhat frantic. "Rainbow, any luck?" Rainbow's head shook a denial.

"I've checked everywhere from Canterlot to Cloudsdale!" she reported. "There's no sign of her anywhere!" This was upsetting. Fluttershy apparently vanished off the face of... that's not Earth, right? Hooves stomping. The ponies and Spike turned to see an orange pony with a cowboy hat over a blond mane and apples imprinted by her tail. The other pony was white with curls in her violet mane and diamonds by her tail.

"Twilight!" the white pony cried out. Their hoofing stopped reaching a grounding Rainbow and Twilight.

"What's this about a pony on the lam?" the orange pony eagerly wanted to know. Before Twilight could respond...

"YAHOO!" Pinkie Pie cheered as she was riding a lamb, rodeo style and everyone watching. The lamb was bucking, trying to shake off the pink pony. Did anyone get it? A **pony**...on the **lamb?** Despite no fingers...she not human like Fluttershy... Pinkie Pie held on tightly until a horn from out of nowhere sounded and Pinkie Pie hopped off, snapping a hoof at the other ponies. "That's how you ride lamb!" Yes, it was impressive to see a pony that could act a little crazy...but the other ponies were more belittled by her antics than helping in the matter of finding Fluttershy.

"There's an emergency and here you are, riding sheep?" the white pony scowled. It didn't deter Pinkie Pie a bit.

"Oh relax, Rarity! I just came back from her cottage. Checked up on her animal friends." So she was helping the other ponies. Twilight decided to fill the void.

"I was performing a new spell which hit Fluttershy and now, she's missing," she explained. She failed to explain the book where said spell emerged from. Rainbow had a murderous glare at Pinkie Pie.

"If some pony didn't interrupt the spell's process..." she snarled. It did startle Pinkie Pie a bit but the orange pony pulled her back by her rainbow tail.

"Simmer down, Sugar Cube," she tried to settle the flier. "Getting mad and all won't bring Fluttershy back home to Ponyville." Rainbow calmed a little but still wanted to smack some sense into Pinkie Pie. Back in the forest, Little Wonder dragged May to a cliff side while Ash and Fluttershy pursued close by. When everyone arrived, Ash and May awed the size of the forest. It was huge.

"Look at this place!" Ash huffed. "No wonder we got lost on the way!" May saw something in the far distance: a town. Civilization, at last!

"Hey, I see a town over there!" she pointed out. To Ash, a place where he could rest and take care of his Pokémon. To Fluttershy...seeing the tall buildings somewhat reminded her of home. Little Wonder?

("Town?") she questioned. Hearing the Bulbasaur, Ash knew why the Pokémon would ask that.

"That's right, you've been here all your life and haven't been able to step out," he concluded. The Bulbasaur mulled that she was missing out on all the excitement humans enjoyed and wanted to join the bandwagon.

"Well, a town's full of people and strip malls and clothes..." she described. Bulbasaur had a confused look on it's small face which May recognized. "Oh yeah. You could care less about clothes." May hoisted the Pokémon for her to see the town for itself. "Over there is a town. My friends and I have visited many towns and met more friends and Pokémon." Little Wonder began dreaming about what it would be like to enter a town. That begged a question from Ash to Fluttershy about her origin.

"Say, what town or city are you from?" Fluttershy pondered if maybe saying where she's from could help with the mysterious mental fog clouding the humans that she herself became.

"Actually, I'm from Ponyville," she answered. A village but the name of Ponyville had Ash scratching his head. It wasn't a village he's heard of.

'Ponyville? Is that in the Hoenn Region? I know it ain't in Johto, Kanto or the Orange Islands.' Before Ash could interrogate her further, he remembered that there were others who were waiting for them back beyond the gate. 'Maybe we can have her tag along so that she could tell us about Ponyville.' He now turned to May. "May, we should find our way out of here. Max and Brock are pretty worried about us." May turned to Ash, knowing about their friends just beyond the gate.

"I know," she smiled. "I mean...this place is beautiful and all, but we're not suppose to be here." Ash and Fluttershy bobbed to agree. That's when May remembered Fluttershy. "Hey, I've got an idea! Why not come with us? I mean, you're not from around here yourself, right?" An invite...that Ash was just thinking about. Fluttershy wasn't sure if she wanted to go with Ash and May over the gates. Perhaps if she stayed with the Pokémon, whatever brought her here could bring her back with Twilight and her friends. Then again, if she found a way back, would she return to pony form? Would her human form scare off the other ponies? Maybe going with Ash and May sounded like a good idea after all. Suddenly, a wail of cries from the Pokémon snagged their attention.

"What was that?" Fluttershy heard the cries. Trouble. May realized there was panic.

"Let's check it out!" The group dashed off as a giant humanoid robot was grabbing the Pokémon and tossing them into a backpack via the opened hole on top. What's weird was that the robot had real brunette hair.

"Don't run away," a female voice rang out from inside the machine sounding a lot like Jessie.

"We just wanna play a pick-up game," a male voice teased and it sounded just like James. The mechanical hands snagged three Pokémon at a time. Just as more Pokémon passed by, the group entered the scene. Fluttershy realized the problem and now it wasn't her equilibrium.

"The Pokémon are panicking!" she observed. The roaring of the engine had Pikachu turn to the robot. The giant red "R" was the selling point of the problem.

("It's Team Rocket!") Pikachu shouted. The group heard the Pokémon and turned to the trouble. There's the giant robot rolling onto them.

"What's that?" Ash gasped. "A giant robot?" The robot stopped just short of the humans.

"Prepare for trouble, we've got the Pokémon in the bag," that female from the robot chanted.

"Make it double, or better yet, waive that rag," the male added. What's this, a motto?

"To protect the world from devastation."

"To unite all people's within our nation."

"To denounce the evils of truth and love."

"To extend our reach to the stars above." The head opened up where Jessie and James emerged.

"Jessie!

"And James!"

"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now or prepare to fight, fight, fight!" That's when Meowth showed up.

"Meowth, that's right!" he meowed with a Brooklyn accent. Ash realized that there was trouble with the appearance of these three.

"Team Rocket!" Ash identified with anger.

("Not you guys again!") Pikachu snarled. Team Rocket wasn't worried.

"Of course it's us," Jessie grinned. "However, the Grass Pokémon happen to be our prize..." That's when she shot a finger to Fluttershy. Why her? "So is the princess you're protecting." Fluttershy a princess? Ash and May flinched at the note of Fluttershy being royalty. Yeah, the name didn't spring kingdom but then again...

"We saw how you were able to control these Pokémon with your voice alone," James pointed out. "A voice like that is certainly a must for the organization of Team Rocket." Fluttershy stood shocked. Her natural talent of communicating to animals was now the target of two adults. Man, she wished she had her Pegasus wings right about now...or her friends. Right now, all she had was Ash, May and Pikachu.

"There's no way we're letting you take her anywhere!" Ash snapped back. "Pikachu, Thunderbolt!" Pikachu fired a Thunderbolt when the robot's breastplate opened, revealing a mirror that the Thunderbolt struck. Instead of shocking the trio, the Thunderbolt was sent back at the kids who leaped out of the way of the rebounding shot.

"Come on, twerp!" Jessie mocked. "That Thunderbolt bit's getting old, and this reflection is proof of that boring attack." The three retreated back inside the robot and restarted the arms, grabbing Little Wonder and a downed Fluttershy as the kids recovered from the near strike. Little Wonder wailed in fear and pain and Fluttershy struggled to free herself. Even if her Pegasus wings were still with her, they wouldn't be much help to escape

"Gotcha by the bulb!" Meowth meowed. May spotted the Pokémon and "pony" in trouble.

"Bulbasaur!" she yelled. Ash got angered with Team Rocket's audacity of not just taking the Grass Pokémon but Fluttershy as well.

"Let her and the Pokémon go, now!" he snapped. Team Rocket could care less about what Ash wanted.

"I wish I had an extra hand to perform a tongue-n-cheek mock," Jessie teased. "But we used the money we had to invest in this scooper. So, here's our tongue for consolation." A tongue popped out of the head of the robot. Who knew robots had tongues? That's when Little Wonder's cries for help were about to be answered. Vines shot out of nowhere and slapped the hands and jarred them, freeing Little Wonder and Fluttershy. Those vines came from Venusaur, angered at Team Rocket for taking the Pokémon.

("Let Fluttershy and my Pokémon go, now!") he ordered while Little Wonder and Fluttershy made it back to Ash and May, amazed at the highness' timing.

"Venusaur!" May happily chirped. Team Rocket wasn't so forgiving.

"Well, if it isn't the king of this jungle," Jessie hissed.

"It's about time you stepped up and face us," James scorned. An arm was aimed at Venusaur.

"Come on down!" Meowth growled as the arm extended to Venusaur who fired a vine, smacking the hand back. "My ladyfinger!" The vine curled before swinging back at the bot, causing the top to spin around and around. Team Rocket was screaming as they, along with the robot, were getting quite a twirl. The spinning stopped with the robot's bag wide open. Venusaur wasted little time and wrapped the vines to the straps. The robot tried to roll off in some fear...but where were they going with a Pokémon hanging onto their back, literally? Both the robot and Venusaur were in a vicious tug-of-war for the Pokémon.

"Venusaur's power is holding us back!" Jessie cried out. James had an idea to turn the tables.

"Then let's cut the king a little slack!" he optioned. Meowth had the controls ready to switch the engine from forth to back.

"So we go from pull to push!" it summoned as the treads stopped spinning in the attempt to escape...only to roll in reverse. The sudden reverse threw Venusaur so off-balance, the momentum caused the giant Pokémon to fly...right at Fluttershy who was too stunned to move unlike May and Little Wonder who cleared out. Ash raced at Fluttershy, trying to keep her from getting hurt.

"Look out!" he yelled as he tackled the newly human away and just in time. Venusaur landed just where Fluttershy stood a moment ago, now on it's back and held by the tree from it. Ash and Fluttershy were also down with Ash on top while May, Little Wonder and Pikachu watched in horror, fearing injuries.

"Ash!" May cried.

("Fluttershy!") the Pokémon barked. The robot turned around and reached, snagging Little Wonder. Snapping, May grabbed the arm holding the Bulbasaur. Both were flung over the robot into the sack just viewed by Ash.

"May!" Ash hollered. Fluttershy saw the anger, though surprised to see a "colt" of a human on top of the "filly" such as her in human form. Her cheeks were apple red.

"Um...Ash?" she called. Turning to the call, Ash noticed Fluttershy's beet red cheeks, realizing that maybe she needed to get up.

"Yeah, sorry." Helping her up, their attention was on the Venusaur tipped over. Ash, Fluttershy and Pikachu pushed the Venusaur back onto its feet. Venusaur shook off the cobwebs. That's when Fluttershy wasn't looking so shy. She looked angry.

"How dare you..." Ash was fearing that maybe tackling her to save her life could have ended up touching some part that she didn't really like.

"What I do?" Fluttershy spun to Ash, denying that her anger was aimed at him.

"Not you." It was at Team Rocket. She now faced the robot. Cover your ears, kids. "HOW DARE YOU!" Even though the anger wasn't at Ash, he and Venusaur still flinched at the yelled from her. "You think that just because you have a giant robot means that you can bully everyone and everything in this world?" James and Meowth stuttered from Fluttershy's tone. Jessie? To her, Fluttershy was like Ash and May, just a twerp.

"Well, duh," she defied. "The bigger we are, the better our chances of getting away." Fluttershy wasn't going to throw in the towel just yet. Instead she reached for the balls by Ash's belt.

"Hey!" he yelped. "What are you-" Snagging a ball, Fluttershy chucked the ball out which opened where a light spurt out and a red lobster-like creature emerged.

("I'm here!") it cawed. Ash was shocked that Fluttershy would release one of his Pokémon...but grinned with a plan.

"Venusaur, use Vine Whip to throw Corphish at Team Rocket," he instructed. "Venusaur was the king of this forest so hearing Ash call for him to use an ability was startling. "Trust me." Now he turned to Pikachu. "Pikachu, Thunderbolt, again!" Pikachu was charging up another electric attack when Venusaur wrapped a vine around Corphish. The vine had the arm of a major league baseball pitcher because Corphish was flying at Team Rocket at near triple-digit speed. Pikachu fired another Thunderbolt and prompted the robot to reveal the mirror. All according to Ash's plan, he smirked. "Corphish, Crab Hammer!" Corphish's pincer began glowing just as it delivered a vicious punch to the mirror. SMASH! Seven years of bad luck? How about two seconds of perfect planning? The Thunderbolt hit it's mark and shocked the robot in full. Oddly, the bag was not receiving any electricity. The shock left Team Rocket stunned, not literally.

"I told you that wrapping the bag's rim with rubber tape would hurt us," Meowth scolded. "That twerp must have seen the tape and knew his twerp friend and the Pokémon would not be hurt." Did Ash see the rubber tape? All he saw at the moment was Corphish behind the robot.

"Tear the bag open!" Corphish used the pincers to rip the bag where May and the Pokémon escaped. The robot was still functioning and turned around to see the girl and the Pokémon running for cover.

"Where do you think you're going?" Jessie questioned.

"You might need a hand with all the Pokémon!" James evilly offered as a hand was shot out. Then...

"Poochyena, Shadow Ball!" an old man in rags ordered. Three black hyena pups fired black orbs which struck and blew the hand to pieces. The arm retracted but was missing the appendage.

"Now WE need a hand!" Meowth shrieked. Finally, more help arrived in a group of men and a raven-haired boy in a green polo t-shirt.

"May!" the youngest cried out. He and May hugged. One of the men who came, a tanned, spiky brunette wearing a brown spring short sleeve jacket, spotted Ash and Fluttershy.

"Hey, who's the new girl?" he wondered. Forget the new girl because light was gathering at the top of Venusaur's flower. Viewing that, the little boy gasped at what Venusaur was attempting to do.

"Brock, what's that Venusaur doing?" Brock saw it, remembering the move.

"Solar Beam!" Hearing the name of the attack, the robot turned around to see Venusaur while Ash snagged Fluttershy's arm and yanked her behind the Pokémon. Team Rocket was in for a blast. A white beam fired from the flower tip and struck the robot. KABOOM! The robot was toast and Team Rocket went flying.

"Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!" the three yelled as they left the forest. Bye bye! It was a moment for everyone to calm down and relax. As the sun set, the humans and Fluttershy were back beyond the gate. The Grass Pokémon were saying their goodbyes.

"The Pokémon are grateful that we came to help them despite the fact that none of us were allowed inside," Fluttershy explained. "I am grateful to be friends with those who wish to preserve the lands for future generations." That was rather heartwarming. May did have a question for Fluttershy.

"By the way, Fluttershy," she started. Guess she told her name with some confidence. "How were you able to calm the Pokémon down with your voice? When we met, you said that you weren't there for a long time." That was a mystery that Ash had to be desiring answers to, too.

"I take care of different animals back home, even my bunny, Angel. So for me to understand Pokémon sounds rather natural." It's as if understanding creatures was a talent for her. The old man came forward with a question of his own.

"By the way, how did you infiltrate the gates?" he wondered. Fluttershy had a feeling that her answer would not help the mystery but thought it would start a reason.

"To be honest, the last thing I remember was Twilight Sparkle trying a spell from a new book and the spell hitting me. When I woke up, the Pokémon wondered about who I was." Twilight Sparkle? Even to Pikachu, that name was not normal.

"Who would name someone Twilight Sparkle?" Brock itched his head in confusion. No one knew that Fluttershy was a pony beforehand. The gates were closing but some Pokémon didn't want to stay. Little Wonder ran out pass the gates.

("May!") she called out. May turned around to see the Pokémon she saved before. May knlet down to meet it.

"What is it, Little Wonder?" she asked. The Bulbasaur spoke where Fluttershy was able to interpret.

"Little Wonder wants to come with you, May," she answered. May was flabbergasted. Little Wonder wanted to become May's Pokémon.

"Old Man Obee, what do we do?" one of the other men asked. Obee bowed to the request of the Bulbasaur.

"Nothing," he replied. "When a trainer tries to take, we are responsible to protect the Pokémon. However, if a Pokémon wants to travel with a human, we allow it to move and seek it's destiny." It was out of their power. May was in glee, happy to accept another Pokémon to her family. Fluttershy was happy that May and Little Wonder were now Pokémon and trainer together. She would be happy if there was a way to return home...and as a pony.

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED...


	4. A Shy Way Home?

_Chapter 4: A Shy Way Home?_

* * *

After spending the night and guided to the town close by thanks to Old Man Obee, Ash, May, Brock, another small raven-haired boy and their newly acquired friends Fluttershy and Bulbasaur known as Little Wonder were fascinated with the size of the town and the townspeople. Fluttershy couldn't believe all the humans walking around shopping, eating, conversing, playing with the Pokémon...she began feeling a little homesick at seeing the children with the Pokémon. 'Angel...' she thought of an animal friend back in Ponyville. Even if she did go back, how could Twilight and the other ponies accept her as she was now: a human? The boy saw the worried face of Fluttershy, quickly concerned.

"Is something wrong?" he wondered. Fluttershy hiccuped at the sound of the young boy.

"No, no. Just some friends I miss, Max." May had an idea to spruce around Fluttershy's frown.

"I know," she spoke. "How about some clothes shopping? You might need some new duds after being in that forest for some time." Maybe some new clothes would be a good way to cheer her up.

"Why not? This gown's stench isn't what I'd consider friendly." Sounded like a good idea. Even Brock thought that a new wardrobe for Fluttershy couldn't hurt.

"You guys can go on ahead," he assured. "We'll meet back up at the Pokémon Center." May and Fluttershy agreed before the boys and girls gone their separate ways. The girls found themselves in a fancy fashion boutique full of clothes for women from designer blouses to jean skirts to sexy shoes. The female store owner saw Fluttershy, awed by her appearance.

"Who do we have here?" she cooed as she jumped in front of Fluttershy and May. "A hair worthy of a movie superstar, a face of eternal youth and beauty...AH!" She's in heaven while the other two were in the clouds.

"We, uh...stopped by for some new clothes," Fluttershy tried to get her attention. Still in a _really_ happy place, the owner ran off for some of her line of clothing.

"Of course! These are top of the line gowns that would no doubt go with the hairstyle! Come to the dressing room and try it out!" The green-haired owner dragged Fluttershy to her tiny dressing rooms for her to see what she'd look like in her wardrobe. She lifted her dirty gown off, revealing rather lacy lingerie and there were small bumps on her chest. If this was what Fluttershy looked like as a human, could you imagine what the other ponies would appear as should they come by here. Speaking of ponies, a piece of herself was found above her waist at her back: her cutie mark! She may be human but a piece of herself was still on her.

"I still have my cutie mark? I thought it might have disappeared when I became human." Apparently, that wasn't all. Peering down, there was what appeared to be a photo. She picked it up and nearly wept the fitting room with flowing tears. It was her...as her old self and along with the other ponies: Twilight, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Rainbow and...that other pony. What was her name? "My friends..." Let's let her reminisce while we check back with the ponies. A portal was opened by Twilight where the forest of Grass Pokémon could be viewed. The ponies got to maybe a few feet of the portal in Twilight's home but it abruptly closed and vanished. Twilight was exhausted.

"I'm sorry, every pony," she apologized weakly. "I'm out of... energy to..." The orange pony positioned her head in time to catch Twilight fainting. Poor Twilight wore herself out trying to find Fluttershy.

"Take it easy, Sally," she cautioned Twilight's condition. "We'll find our missing Pegasus but you need to rest." Twilight wanted to take her word for grant.

"Thanks, Applejack." An idea popped into Rainbow's head and had her turn to Rarity. Like Twilight, Rarity was a unicorn.

"Maybe you can do that portal opening-thing if Twilight's too exhausted," she suggested. Rarity acted disgusted with the plan. This was a good indication that Rarity wasn't as powerful with her horn than Twilight.

"Oh, please!" she spat. "Like I have the same talent as Twilight? I make dresses, not vortexes!" Sweetie Belle was looking at the book which helped Twilight create the portal in the first place.

"And besides, the spell to create the vortexes takes a lot of magic," she read. "Even combined with big sis won't be enough." So now what? Applejack saw the Pokémon in the portal, though not knowing what Pokémon are.

"There's been something that's been bugging my apples about those greenery creatures we saw," she observed. "You don't reckon she turned into one of them when that spell hit her." Fluttershy a Pokémon?

"We won't really know unless we actually locate her," Rarity summarized. Great concern painted the faces of the ponies, one of their own's fate uncertain.

"Fluttershy..." Twilight prayed for her safety. Moving on back to the Pokémon World, the boys were not only waiting for Pikachu and the other Pokémon to be healed at a vet-like building but waiting for May and Fluttershy. That wouldn't be long.

"Guys!" May called out. The boys turned to see May and Fluttershy decked out in some simple attire: a yellow floral summer blouse and a sparkling pink skirt that was knee-length. She also wore some shiny laced white shoes. For who was once a pony, she's not too shabby. The boys agreed with the new looking Fluttershy.

"The store owner believed I was a famous fashion model visiting the town," she explained. "Apparently, she gave me a discount for some of her line of clothes which, I would say, rivals Rarity's fashion designs." Hearing one of Fluttershy's friend's names had the boys scratching their heads. Realizing that her new friends were never informed about those in Ponyville, she wished that Rarity wasn't abruptly mentioned. "I guess I need to be more...specific about my friends."

"Yeah, that might help," Brock acknowledged. Suddenly, a chime forced those who heard it to look up.

"Ash Ketchum, your Pokémon are ready," a voice on a speaker called out. His Pokémon must be ready to go.

"I'll be right back," Ash promised before he darted to the front desk. Did Brock nor Max have Pokémon?

"I'm just making sure Brock doesn't try again with Nurse Joy," Max stood by voice, making Brock rather embarrassed.

"May did tell me about Brock's behavior around girls," Fluttershy remembered. "Though, why hasn't he tried it on me unless..." May and Max were starting to show nervousness from hearing the filly...uh, female friend.

"Are you saying that you have a crush on-" May began to question but Fluttershy answered quickly.

"No, no, I was just thinking that maybe Brock prefers girls who are more mature than you like Nurse Joy." Was she not mature enough for Brock?

"Well, you're on the right track but I don't wanna go too far into detail," Brock requested not to continue with him and want to go back to her but Ash came back with Pikachu on his shoulder.

"Sorry about that," he apologized...for what? "It's not easy making sure my Pokémon and Brock's are with the same tray." A delay. "By the way, I did manage to talk to Prof. Oak while you were getting new clothes and he let me have Bulbasaur for a while." He opened a ball which revealed another Bulbasaur without a heart mark like May's. Fluttershy knelt to meet the new Pokémon.

"So this is your Little Wonder," she studied as Ash handed Brock his Pokémon. "Hello there." Bulbasaur was a little startled to see Fluttershy, let alone be called a "Little Wonder." May came up with a ball in hand.

"It's nice to meet you, Bulbasaur," she greeted. Bulbasaur felt more eased with May than Fluttershy. "By the way, someone else would like to meet you." She opened the ball and released Little Wonder, her Bulbasaur. Both Bulbasaurs greeted each other and the development of friendship was quick with a vine shake.

"Look at that!" Ash awed. "They're both friends right off the bat." Both of the Bulbasaurs were chatting up a storm. Everyone but Fluttershy was interested to know what they were saying.

"These two are getting to know each one's background," she briefly translated. That's when she was interested with who else Ash and May have. "Say, is it all right if I see more of your Pokémon?" Ash and May looked at each other. Was it necessary for Fluttershy to be more exposed to more Pokémon?

"Sure!" they replied in unison. All filed out of the clinic and onto a field for an organized battle. At one end of the field was Ash while May stood right across. Max and Fluttershy sat on the sidelines with Pikachu on Fluttershy's lap and both Bulbasaurs between the youngest male and oldest female. Brock was on the side of the field.

"This will be a one-on-one Pokémon battle with no time limit," he announced. "Let the battle begin!" Ash and May threw their balls toward the center.

"Taillow, I choose you!" Ash summoned. His ball opened and out came a little black bird.

"Go, Skitty!" May called forth. Her ball opened to see a pink kitten. It was adorable! "Use Assist!" Skitty's paw was glowing where a white sticky thread flied out at Taillow.

"Dodge it, Taillow!" Taillow swooped under the thread. A perfect evasive maneuver. "Counter with Quick Attack!" Taillow swung low and made a beeline for Skitty. BAM! The strike knocked Skitty off its paws. As the two battled, Max saw the picture of Fluttershy as her old self with her friends. Pikachu saw the photo, curious about if the six were Pokémon.

("What are they?") he asked. Fluttershy decided to let the little one know about her origin.

"That's...suppose to be me," she confessed. Pikachu did a double-take, gawking between Fluttershy in the photo and Fluttershy in person, literally. "There's Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash and myself." Seeing all these ponies on the picture began to question who Fluttershy really was.

("You're really a pony, not a human?") Pikachu looked hard at Fluttershy on the photo, noticing the wings. ("You can fly?") Fluttershy was a Pegasus pony.

"If I could turn back, I would be able to." Strong interests fueled Pikachu's mind, desiring to see Fluttershy and her pony friends. "Although when Ash protected me from the king landing on us, I felt a warmth from him that I never felt even as a Pegasus pony." Was there something about Ash that had her feel this warmth? Back at the battle, Taillow and Skitty had worn themselves out. One more attack could do either one in. The trainers chose unanimously to end the battle.

"How about we call this a draw?" Ash requested.

"Okay, that works for me and Skitty," May confirmed. So that's it? It was more like a practice battle than a real fight. "Taillow, you've gotten a lot faster and more precise with your attacks." Taillow cawed in delight.

"And Skitty, I noticed that your Blizzard attack's gotten stronger." Skitty meowed, happy to hear the compliment. Fluttershy wondered what Blizzard was. She was paying more attention to her photo and Pikachu.

"Blizzard?" she asked. Max spotted Fluttershy's photo, wondering himself who was on it.

"I'm gonna make something to eat," Brock offered. The others couldn't wait for food but Fluttershy had a special request on his menu.

"Can you make something without meat?" she asked. Fluttershy's a vegetarian? Formerly being a horse, it might not be too farfetched.

"Sure thing." And with that, Brock walked off. Max was ready to point out the photo, interested with who was on it. Unlike Fluttershy, he was paying attention to the practice battle than Fluttershy's conversation with Pikachu.

"Hey, Fluttershy?" he spoke. "What's that photo in your hand?" Fluttershy looked at the photo she showed Pikachu, wondering if they could believe where she was from. Heck, Ash was still trying to wonder where Ponyville was. With a deep breath, she was ready to speak.

"You all might find this hard to believe but the photo is me and my friends," she sighed as she offered the photo to Max with Ash and May hovering over his shoulders. Much to her word, no one could believe that these ponies were her and/or her friends.

"Uh, Fluttershy?" Ash questioned the photo. "Are you sure that these are you and your friends?" Fluttershy nodded. May looked at the photo, noticing the yellow pony had the same hairstyle as Fluttershy's.

"I have a feeling that the yellow one here is suppose to be you?" she guessed.

"That's right," Fluttershy answered. "The white unicorn is Rarity. She's a fashion designer with her own shop." Seeing Rarity, May had a question about the cutie marks by the tails.

"Before you continue, what are these tattoos on you and your friends?" Fluttershy had a bit of trouble understanding what May called the cutie marks.

"Actually, they're cutie marks. We ponies get our cutie mark once we discover our special talents like my ability to talk to animals...and apparently Pokémon." Hearing the explanation of cutie marks, Ash had an assumption to what May's would be if she was a pony.

"Well if May was one of your friends, I bet her cutie mark would be a baton or what those orchestra guides use to dictate instruments...you know what I mean." May thought about Ash's picture, viewing herself as a red pony with her headband over her brunette mane and a baton by her flank. She giggled at her mental picture of herself as a pony. Ash turned back to Fluttershy with more. "How about your other friends?"

"Well, the orange pony is Applejack who helps run Sweet Apple Acres. The pink pony is Pinkie Pie. She...pretty much does everything around Ponyville. The blue Pegasus pony is Rainbow Dash, out weather manager and lastly, the purple unicorn is Twilight Sparkle who came to Ponyville from Canterlot." Seeing the cast on the photo, Max sneered at Ash. Why?

"These are girls, right?" he asked. Fluttershy bobbed a nod. "Maybe one of them could fawn for Ash." That was terrible, Max. POW! And May cemented that with a punch to the crown. "OW!"

"Apparently, bad child comedians could do better than that," she groaned. Fluttershy picked Skitty up to pet while Taillow perched itself on Ash's head.

"I would like to meet your friends, Fluttershy," he said, somewhat willing to make new friends. Fluttershy giggled at Ash's curiosity.

"Trust me," she smiled. "They're some of the best friends a pony...or human could ever have." That's when a flash blasted behind them. The flash was a portal...from Ponyville! Twilight's horn from the other side of the portal was glowing. She, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Rainbow, Applejack, Spike and the Cutie Mark Crusaders watched the portal open.

"Look at that!" The kids gasped at seeing the ponies.

"I told you some rest and a glass of apple cider would give her the strength to keep her portal open," Applejack grinned. Fluttershy was stunned. It was her friends. Holding Skitty, Fluttershy approached the portal.

"Twilight!" she gasped. "Applejack!" The ponies turned to what should be a reunion with a friend...only it didn't quite dawn on the ponies about one of their own.

"Who in tar-nations are you?" She didn't recognized Fluttershy. She had to help out.

"It's me, Applejack! It's Fluttershy!" Even Spike and Pinkie Pie didn't want to believe that this...whatever she was, was their friend Fluttershy. That's when she remembered that despite becoming human, she still had her cutie mark. "I can prove that it's me!" She turned around and hoisted her blouse, revealing the butterflies. Rainbow gawked at the butterflies, realizing that she was telling the truth.

"It _is_ Fluttershy!" she gasped. "That's her cutie mark!" Other than Twilight, the ponies gathered around the portal to see their missed friend. The humans gathered around Fluttershy to see the ponies themselves.

"I bet that Dex wouldn't recognize these creatures," Max hypothesized. Heck, the ponies couldn't identify Fluttershy's new form.

"So what are you, Fluttershy?" Pinkie Pie wondered. "Because that form is pretty weird." Fluttershy wasn't shy about her new form.

"Well, Pinkie Pie," she spoke. "I'm human. At least I'm not a manticore." Manticore?

"Human?" Applejack questioned to Twilight. Twilight looked equally confused.

"Never heard of humans, not even from Princess Celestia," Twilight sighed. So no history of humans were mentioned in Equestria. For the first time, humans, Pokémon and ponies were meeting altogether.

"So Twilight's spell that hit you, no thanks to Pinkie Pie," Rainbow assumed. "It turned you into human and removed your wings?" As a pony, Fluttershy had wings. As a human, not so much.

"It seems that way," Fluttershy replied. Skitty meowed like they were here to be friends. Rarity took note of the pink kitten.

"Aren't you just a gorgeous little kitty," she awed. Skitty meowed, a way to thank Rarity for the comment. "Opal would be so jealous of your cute face...and that adorable tail!" May smiled at the remarks of her Pokémon.

"You seemed to enjoy that, huh Skitty?" she asked. Ash and Max enjoyed that exchange of pony and Pokémon.

"Seeing Pokémon for the first time isn't something you wanna forget," Ash commented. Wise words.

"You took the words right out of my mouth," Max agreed. Rainbow swooped to Ash's level and eyed the human.

"Let me get this straight," she pondered. "That giant mouse and the kitty in Fluttershy's arms are Pokémon?" Ash and Max nodded. This further heightened the curiosity of the creatures, even the crusaders.

"That is totally radical!" Scootaloo cheered. Rainbow was willing to disagree.

"I wouldn't say that Pokémon are amazing just by looks. Prove me otherwise." Pikachu was willing to please with pain. It fired a Thunderbolt which passed through the portal and zapping the arrogant pony. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle watched on as poor Rainbow collapsed.

"Does that count as proof, Rainbow Dash?" Apple Bloom teased. Rainbow realized that yep, she deserved that.

"Yeah...I'm convinced." The exchanges had all laughing but it worried Fluttershy. Pikachu's Thunderbolt passed without much alteration. Could she pass through the portal herself...but retain her human form?

"Fluttershy?" Twilight called out. Fluttershy turned to her unicorn friend. "Are you worried about coming back?" Fluttershy wasn't sure about answering. Applejack had a theory.

"I think she's worried that if she crosses, she'll retain her human form instead of returning to the winged wonder we love," she guessed. It would be heartbreaking to learn that Fluttershy would forever be human.

"Well, if that's what it takes," Apple Bloom neighed. "Then the Cutie Mark Crusaders will help Fluttershy across this!" Hearing that the Crusaders wanted to test Applejack's theory, some of the ponies...and humans and Pokémon got a little fearful.

"Wait, hold on!" Ash tried to get their attention but...

"Cutie Mark Crusaders, charge!" they yelled as they flew for the open gateway. A tense moment had come to fruit. With Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo ready to pass, will they forfeit their forms to become human or remain ponies?

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED...  
(That fate is in your hands in my poll. Which choice gets the most will present the next chapter.)


	5. To Err is Pony

_Chapter 5: To Err is Pony_

* * *

Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were leaping into the portal created by Twilight. The recovery of Fluttershy was the priority who was stuck in the Pokémon World...and as a human, a creature unfamiliar in Equestria. The Cutie Mark Crusaders hit the portal and passed through. That's when they began to change as they barreled into Ash, Max and May, knocking all to the floor. Fluttershy ran to the aid of her friends. "Are you okay?" she fearfully asked. The group groaned in some pain.

"I think so!" Ash fought the agony of hurt. He looked to see who he caught. Fuchsia hair? Ash caught Scootaloo...who looked more like a miniature track star with an orange jumpsuit, nowhere similar to prison jumpsuits. Scootaloo's wings were gone, much similar to Fluttershy's fate. In addition, she was about Max's height.

"That hurt a little," she groaned. That's when she saw her hooves as hands and feet which were tennis shoes. She was able to stand up without a problem. "Whoa, I'm human! Awesome!" You're not the only one. May caught Apple Bloom and both were rising with Apple Bloom donning a yellow t-shirt under overall jeans. At least her ribbon stayed on. Applejack watched on, like the rest of the ponies staying in the hut over in Ponyville, wondering how the ponies that just crossed over became human. Was it the spell in the book? Sweetie Belle was on Max, literally. Both were glaring into each one's eyes as Sweetie Belle wore a white dress with white dress shoes. There also appeared to be a unicorn's horn as a necklace. Ash, May, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo raced to Sweetie Belle's and Max's side to help them up. Up close, the faces of the current and new human had an apparent shade of rosy red. Some filly may have just found her colt...uh, girl may have just found her boy.

"Are you okay, Sweetie Belle?" Apple Bloom concernedly asked. May offered her hand which Sweetie Belle spotted and snagged to get lifted.

"Sorry," she apologized. For what? "I've never been that close to a colt before. Kinda froze on how to act." Haven't we all been in that position? The ponies were scratching their heads...considering that their hooves could reach up there...at how the portal turned the Cutie Mark Crusaders into humans.

"How in Equestria did they become human?" Rarity questioned. "And remarkably fashioned?" Aside from the acknowledgment of one's wardrobe, she did point out the rather impossible to explain. But to Ash, a theory emerged as he gazed at the portal.

"I have a thought," he pondered as he footed to the portal. "If a pony turns human by crossing into this portal...would the opposite occur if a human enters?" Watching Ash coming closer, others were worried about him invading with Pikachu by him.

"Wait a second!" Twilight feared. Ash pressed his arm through the portal...and a hoof came out of the other side. Ash's arm was now a blue hoof with a green end. Ash smiled, his prediction being correct. If his whole arm could turn into a hoof, just imagine the rest of Ash should he pass completely through to the other side.

"What do ya know," Pinkie Pie cheered. "We could be humans if we want to! Or ponies when we cross the portal." Ash pulled his hoof back from beyond the portal, reverting to human arm once again.

"That felt weird," he summed up. "Definitely not the same when I was turned into a Pikachu by Lily." Ash was a Pikachu? That's new.

"Now that's a story I wanna hear about." Feeling more confident about returning to Equestria, the ponies were ready to have Fluttershy back.

"Your friend's proven that you can come back here," Twilight pointed out. "So what do you say? Ready to come back? Take care of Angel and the other creatures?" Fluttershy could return to her Pegasus form, be back with her kind, raising animals of her own...but why was she showing doubt? Was it that she feared not having wings? Was it separation from Ash, May, Max, Brock and the Pokémon? There was one thing that was pretty clear.

"I'm sorry, girls," she confessed. "But I wanna stay here a little longer." The ponies...and humans were shocked with Fluttershy's choice.

"You wanna stay?" May replayed in question. "But this was your chance to go home!" Fluttershy nodded but felt compelled to explain her reason.

"Well, I wanna learn more about the Pokémon here and see if I can adapt that into taking better care of the animals near my cottage." That's an interesting reason. Everyone understood where Fluttershy was coming from. That's when she remembered that Spike was in the room too. He and Twilight were always together. "Spike, could you come here a second?" Spike approached the portal as Fluttershy had a rolled up piece of paper. "Could you see that this gets to Princess Celestia?"

"Uh...sure!" he hesitantly agreed as he was offered the paper.

"One more thing..." Pointing to an ear, Spike realized that Fluttershy had a secret...only Pikachu wanted in on it. The whisper was quiet enough that Pikachu didn't quite pick up on it. However, whatever Fluttershy said, Spike's cheeks burned the same shade of red Sweetie Belle and Max had when they first met. It may have been his feelings for Rarity.

"Whoa..." Fluttershy stepped away and Twilight chose to let their fellow filly be what she decided.

"Well, Fluttershy?" Twilight neighed. "I respect your decision to let you stay human. Sure, not many of the ponies would agree with this option." Just say that to Rainbow's scowl. Applejack wanted to hustle the crusaders back to the other side.

"Come on, Apple Bloom!" she hollered. "It's time to return home."

"Sweetie Belle, you too!" Rarity called for her little sister. Going home...just after seeing themselves as humans for the first time. Sweetie Belle wasn't too heartbroken about being called back home. Scootaloo was a little more but not so much.

"Why not join us?" Sweetie Belle requested to Max. He was a little hesitant about going with a pony to Ponyville...without May or Ash. Reluctant as it may have been, discovering a new area...and a different body wouldn't hurt.

"O-Okay..." he shyly answered. Along with Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle and Max entered the portal where the ponies reverted back to their horsing forms. Max had an all new look on him. He was now a green pony with a black mane which looked like his human hairstyle. He also retained his glasses so that's expected. "Whoa, this might take some time to get use to." Walking on four hooves instead of two feet...come on, Max, it's like crawling when you were a baby. Ash, May and Fluttershy, along with the Pokémon were surprised to see one of the humans become a pony. Apple Bloom wasn't really budging too much. Fluttershy wanted to get her moving.

"It's okay, Apple Bloom," she reassured. "I'll be fine here with Ash and May." That would be convincing enough and Apple Bloom walked to the portal. Then she stopped at the doorway. Was she reconsidering the return?

"No~!" she snapped. This startled the humans and ponies. Apple Bloom wanted to stay?

"What do you mean no?" Applejack yelled. This filly wanted freedom.

"I wanna stay human for a while! It feels great!" Applejack groaned at Apple Bloom's deviancy. "Besides, I wanna make sure nothing happens to Fluttershy." But what about the Cutie Mark Crusaders? Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were beside themselves at watching one of their own stray from the herd. Twilight wanted the whole fiasco to stop.

"Okay every pony!" she spoke up before realizing that the humans were paying attention too. "I mean...everyone. I'm closing the portal. Please keep an eye on Fluttershy and Apple Bloom. We'll watch Max for you." Ash and May, not sure about letting Max go into a new world in a new form, bobbed nods to assure the safety of the human-turned-pony and the ponies-turned-humans. That's when the humans waived goodbye to the ponies and the portal was no more. Max was now in Equestria and Apple Bloom and Fluttershy were stuck in the Pokémon world.

"So, what's on the agenda?" Apple Bloom asked. No one was sure on plans. Brock came back with some food news.

"Hey, everyone," he called. "Lunch is-" He saw no Max but Apple Bloom. "Who's she?" Apple Bloom walked up to Brock to introduce herself.

"You just missed my sister and our friends," she teased. "I'm a friend of Fluttershy. Name's Apple Bloom." Brock was befuddled with the sudden swap of Apple Bloom and Max.

"Apple Bloom, huh? And what happened to Max?" Ash spoke for Apple Bloom about the switch.

"Max is with her and Fluttershy's friends in another dimension," he replied. "We had a chance to see them while you were out making lunch and Fluttershy chose to stay with us instead of returning back home." Brock turned to Fluttershy in a questioned inquiry.

"You had your opportunity to be back with your friends. Why stay?" Fluttershy had a reason which she told Twilight.

"I want to learn more from the Pokémon here," she answered. "And now I can learn alongside Apple Bloom." Apple Bloom beamed a smile, willing to listen to Fluttershy and anyone else older than her.

"Well, we can start by enjoying lunch. Apple Bloom, you hungry?" Apple Bloom offered a soft chuckle.

"Reckon, I am!" she chirped. They all headed inside where Team Rocket saw the whole thing...from a rather unique hiding spot.

"So, that portal's where the pinky twerpette emerged from and now a fellow tiny twerp has replaced the other tiny twerp," Jessie replayed. "If we can get access to that portal, we can capture their friends and force the twerp to hand over his Pikachu and that girl." She thought that taking Twilight and the other ponies would force Ash to surrender his Pokémon. Not only was this rather crazy but even James and Meowth had serious doubts that it would work.

"You do realize that if we cross into their world, we become one of them, right?" Meowth pointed out. What about Meowth? None of the Pokémon have tried to enter the portal. Fear of losing their shape and their abilities?

"Besides, do you know what you would look like if you were transformed into a pony?" James pondered to Jessie. Jessie wasn't worried one bit.

"Are you forgetting the technology behind Team Rocket? When the portal opens again, we'll use the claws to reach into the other side and snag those creatures. Then, we'll hold them hostage and trade them with the twerpette and Pikachu!" She manically laughed at her supposed perfect plan. She was the only one as she imagined having all of the ponies in her cage and making Ash surrender Pikachu and Fluttershy. She was the only one.

"Jessie, those who fail history are doomed to repeat it," Meowth misquoted a certain philosopher. This stopped her laugh...and decked Meowth in the back of the head.

"And those who don't listen to their master don't deserve to be part of the team!" Boy, that's being harsh. Back in Ponyville, the ponies were greeting Max into their world. Applejack didn't really like her little sister to be substituting for Max but she had to live with Apple Bloom's decision for the meantime.

"Well, Max?" Twilight called to the human-turned-pony. "Welcome to Ponyville, Equestria!" Max felt welcomed even in his new form.

"Thanks, Twilight Sparkle!" Max praised. "It's gonna take me a little while to get use to this form." An issue that Rarity would agree on.

"Considering Fluttershy and Apple Bloom taking human form and being on their two back hooves instead of four, I would believe it," she acknowledged.

"Yeah, but I'm rather disappointed that Max came and not that other colt," Rainbow shared her opinion. "He would be a lot more fun." Pinkie Pie would beg to differ as she strutted by Max's side.

"Oh, don't be so harsh!" she neighed. "I like him already!" She wrapped her hoof around Max, acting rather uncomfortable. It's something Spike noticed right away.

"Pinkie Pie, I think you're invading his space," he motioned. Pinkie Pie saw the discomfort on Max's face prompting her to remove her hoof. Max noticed that Spike was still holding Fluttershy's letter to the princess.

"Hey, how are you gonna get that letter to the princess?" he wondered. Twilight chose to answer for her little dragon friend.

"Spike's magic fire will get the letter to the princess in Canterlot," she explained. Magic fire?

"Watch and learn," Spike wanted to demonstrate. He blew green fire at the letter which burned the paper, creating ashes that flew out of the house in a rather mysterious path. Max had to wonder how scattered charred remains of a letter could be read by Celestia?

"Well, that's interesting to say the least," he figured. Sweetie Belle came up, "kneeing" Max for attention.

"Come on!" she urged. "I'll show you around Ponyville and meet others, including Miss Cheerilee!" Max was rather humbled with the welcoming the ponies were giving him.

"Now I know what the girls feel like when Brock comes around them." Whatever that meant, he was embarrassed. Now, two paths were being journeyed amongst the humans and ponies. What scheme is Team Rocket planning to capture the ponies to force Ash to give up Fluttershy and Pikachu and how could Apple Bloom assist the heroes?

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED...


	6. Love Dropping Boundaries

_Chapter 6: Love Dropping Boundaries_

* * *

After a day of touring around Ponyville, Max was ready to hit the hay. Joined by Pinkie Pie and Sweetie Belle, the human-turned-pony was feeling heavy in the hooves. "Man, this town's got just about everything," he neighed. "I never thought ponies did this much during the day. Applejack's farm's exhausting enough as it is." Pinkie Pie giggled at Max's comments, even willing to put her two bits in.

"Yeah, it kinda makes reading with Twilight the easiest thing to do aside from being human," she compared. "But then again, she did invite you to go with her into the Everfree Forest to pick up some things from Zakura." Before they entered a bakery, Sweetie Belle wanted to go somewhere.

"Well, I'm gonna head back home," she announced with a bit of a sad tone. "Rarity's probably wondering where I've taken off and why I'm not back yet." Pinkie Pie and Max allowed Sweetie Belle to head home. What, not a goodnight kiss or a nuzzle? The other two entered and Max yawned. Pinkie Pie had an inkling why.

"I guess being on four hooves is a lot tougher than being on two feet. Of course, it was also a rather dull day. None of my Pinkie Senses were awake like nothing bad was gonna happen." Pinkie Senses? "Tell ya what, I'll sleep on the couch and you can have my bed." Such generosity.

"Sure, thanks!" he accepted. As the night fell, Twilight and Spike watched on as the two entered the bakery. They strolled home and reviewed having Max join when Fluttershy chose to stay in the Pokémon World and Apple Bloom joining her.

"Max is fitting in pretty well," she observed.

"Yeah, but it's not the same with Fluttershy still with the humans," Spike complained. "I hope she returns soon before her cottage becomes a mess, because of her absence." That was a scary thought.

"I'm sure the animals will be fine without Fluttershy for a few days." Twilight seemed confident about the situation. "Besides, Max has been helping his father with the Pokémon so if they need some care..."

"I don't know... I think Pinkie Pie's gonna keep him more occupied than Fluttershy's animals." As they entered their treehouse, a flying black combination of Pegasus and Unicorn swooped in, watching Twilight and Spike snuggle inside the house to camp for the night. Inside, Spike climbed up a ladder and laid on a small bed. Twilight was ready to call it a night when the door was knocked. This startled Twilight.

"Who could that be at this time?" She opened the door to find the cross breed and that horn dwarfed hers by a lot. Still, she recognized the pony that came to visit. "P-Princess Luna?" Twilight on wobbly hooves allowed Luna to enter but she's a princess? We thought Celestia was the princess!

"I'm sorry to disturb you at this time, Twilight Sparkle," she apologized. "But I'm searching for a book that had gone missing from the library when my older sister's cleaning ponies rearranged the place." She couldn't possibly mean the book Twilight used which sent Fluttershy to meet Ash, could she? Twilight gazed over at the mantle where she placed the book after summoning the portal to try and bring Fluttershy back. She hoofed over to the mantle to show Luna the book.

"I believe this is what you're looking for." Luna glared at the black covered book and opened it using the horn. Reading the contents, she seemed satisfied with the finding.

"This is the book. You haven't been using this book, have you?" Twilight suddenly felt cornered. Should she tell this princess about the disappearance of Fluttershy? About the crossing of Apple Bloom? The weight on her back was forcing her to let the skeletal ponies out of her closet.

"I did." Luna sat on her knees to hear this story. "The Cutie Mark Crusaders found the book in a forest and turned it to me to examine it. I saw a couple of spells I wanted to try out and that's when the spell went awry and sent Fluttershy to a new world...and a new form." Luna pondered about the form Fluttershy had obtained.

"This new form...is it something familiar to Equestria?" Twilight doubted the case, even remembering telling her fellow ponies that she couldn't recall encountering humans in that world.

"Highly doubtful. She became human." Luna mulled at the concept of humans, less the fact of Fluttershy being human herself.

"Human, huh? Being around for thousands of years, there has been no recollected history of humans in Equestrian lore and I'm sure my older sister could testify in agreement." Twilight sighed in frustration at how little information there was in regard to humans. "I'll let Celestia in on the story. In the meantime, I'll take the book back to the Canterlot Library."

"Okay." Using the magical horn, she hoisted the book from the mantle before exiting the house. Twilight could only wonder what Celestia would do after her younger sibling reported the tale. After a few hours, Pinkie Pie woke up, stiff in the saddle and a bit achy. Hopping off the couch, she got to her bed with Max sleeping very soundly. Viewing the young boy...uh, colt, Pinkie Pie smiled before hopping into bed, wrapping her hooves around him and fell snugly asleep. As she snoozed, a beaming smile and reddish cheeks enveloped. Maybe Pinkie Pie liked having Max rather than Sweetie Belle. The next morning rose back in the Pokémon World. Ash, May, Brock, Fluttershy and Apple Bloom were ready to enjoy some breakfast by a lakeside. Ash was polishing what appeared to be a pin which looked like fire on the dock with Fluttershy watching. May, Brock and Apple Bloom were setting the table with Pikachu assisting. Fluttershy seemed interested with the trinkets within a case Ash had. The trinkets in the case had a brownish broken rectangle with a circular piece underneath, a blue boxing glove with an orange circle where the thumb should be, a yellowish circle with a bar under it and two black "O" attached by a bar.

"These are your badges so far?" Fluttershy asked, greatly curious.

"Yep!" Ash replied as the fire shone from the rising sun and polish. "I need three more to compete in the tournament." In total, Ash needed eight of these badges to participate in an upcoming event.

"How do you get these?" Ash grinned as he placed the fiery badge with the rest.

"The Gym Badges are won by beating the Gym Leaders." He picked the brownish badge from the case in display. "The Boulder Badge was from Roxanne in Rustboro City." Putting that back, he picked the glove badge. "The Knuckle Badge was from Brawly over at Dewford Town." Next was the yellow badge. "The Dynamo Badge I got from Wattson in Mauville City." After that, the fiery badge. "The Heat Badge I won from Flannery in Lavaridge Town." Finally, the blackish badge. "And this Balance Badge came after I beat Norman, May and Max's dad, in Petalburg City. Max was really upset when I beat him that he took the badge from us." That's quite an accomplishment, something Brock wanted to add.

"If you add those to the badges he's won on other regions, he has 25 badges total," he brought up. That's putting the bar high for Fluttershy to just pass off. Even May had to wonder how Ash would have 25 badges.

"Wait, I thought he had 21, not 25," she assumed. "Where did he get the other four?" Was it another journey Ash was in which Brock joined?

"Well, I wasn't with Ash when he traveled around the Orange Islands but he won all four badges around the archipelago." Only four around the isles?

"It's not as big as the regions, May," Ash pointed out. "I got the Coral Eye Badge from Cissy on Mikan Island, the Sea Ruby Badge from Danny on Navel Island, the Spike Shell Badge from Rudy on Trovita Island and the Jade Star Badge from Luana on Kumquat Island before I beat the leader of the Orange Crew, Drake." May and the ponies were stunned in awe. Ash was more than some trainer May came across.

"With those accomplishments, I'm surprised that you still travel around each region instead of giving yourself time to recuperate after each trip," Apple Bloom criticized. Ash shyly giggled at the remark.

"Well, I _am_ working on being a Pokémon Master. Still trying to perfect my Pokémon's abilities and techniques." Ash closed the lid...with Fluttershy's hands supporting the sealing. Ash felt the extra hands and turned to see her hands on his. Guiding his eyes up her arms, he faced Fluttershy's face.

"Don't rush yourself too much, Ash," she softly scolded. "When the time comes, just let it become you instead of you becoming what you're chasing." Interesting advice from a pony.

"Fluttershy..." Apple Bloom saw the blushing cheeks on Fluttershy's face, thinking that she's taken more than a simple liking to the human she's sitting with.

"I may not be an expert on human behavior, mostly because humans are still pretty new to me and being in the skin of one and not in my normal fur," she studied. "But I think Fluttershy's got a crush to Ash like Miss Cheerile to Big Macintosh." May and Brock wanted to clean their ears at Apple Bloom's discovery.

"Wait, Fluttershy and Ash together?" Brock stuttered. Apple Bloom, please explain.

"Well, it's a lesson we Cutie Mark Crusaders learned the hard way. Of course, I think Ash is unaware that he's doing the right thing when it comes to love." Unaware of doing what? "You see, the right approach to love is not to approach it at all, instead let it come to you!" Ah, Apple Bloom thought Ash knew what it would take for love, something May would mock right off the explanation.

"Sounds like something Brock needs to learn," she teased the breeder. "Always chasing Nurse Joy and Officer Jenny!" Brock was hurt.

"May!" he whined. May and Apple Bloom shared a laugh. That's when a splash alerted all, including Pikachu. Turning, they saw a giant blue catfish with yellow tendril-like whiskers.

("Hi!") it bellowed. Everyone jumped, mostly Ash and Fluttershy.

"What's that?" Ash wondered. He retrieved his hand-held device and pointed it at the new creature. It registered.

"Whiscash, the Whiskers Pokémon," it computed. "Whiscash will attack anything which could inflict harm to his environment, creating earthquakes to wart off it's enemies." Whiscash, huh? Fluttershy reached the edge of the dock to meet with the Whiscash.

"I'd be careful about that Whiscash, Fluttershy!" Brock warned. "That one's ten times bigger than a normal Whiscash." Whiscash were...smaller than this one? Whoa, caution understood. Whiscash seemed...bubbly.

"You sound like a friendly little Whiscash," Fluttershy chirped, trying to be on Whiscash's good side. It was working.

("That's so sweet of you,") it bubbled. Fluttershy beamed a smile that could be rivaled by Pinkie Pie. ("I'm just protecting the other Whiscash in this lake.") Understanding this Whiscash, Fluttershy was able to communicate.

"That must take a lot of responsibility, huh? And being that you're a big fish, you ward off anyone who tries to harm this lake."

("That I do well. But I came up when I saw something shiny up here.") That shiny thing might have been Ash's badges. Realizing what Whiscash was referring to, she had to clarify the shiny item.

"Those were Ash's badges he earned. You can't have those, silly!" Whiscash sounded a laugh, much to the astonishment of the others.

"I'm a Pokémon Breeder and I have some difficulty understanding Pokémon," Brock proclaimed. "She makes communication with Pokémon look easy!" May, though seeing it in the past, still couldn't help but fathom Fluttershy's talent. Apple Bloom had a theory.

"Well, considering that she tends to different animals back in her cottage, I shouldn't really be surprised," she huffed. "I heard from Rarity how she was able to tame a Manticore by removing a thorn on it's paw when they chased Nightmare Moon and the Elements of Harmony." Fluttershy petted Whiscash between the whiskers. Whiscash was very eased. That's when it dove down into the lake...only to spring out of the water, flipping into the air and slamming back into the lake, creating a wave and spooking all. SPLASH! The wave crashed down on those on the dock and the water didn't reach the fire pit boiling a pot of stew by a couple feet. When the water settled, those near the pot looked at the dock, seeing Ash shielding Fluttershy who was on her back. When Ash looked to Fluttershy to make sure she was okay, the eyes glued onto each other. Fluttershy's mane...uh, hair was dampened but not as much as Ash's back. Their cheeks bled burning red the longer they stared. What's wrong, Ash? Never been this close to a pony or girl? Whiscash surfaced and chuckled at it's little fun. Fluttershy wrapped her hand around Ash's young, soaked head.

"You okay?" he asked with a hint of concern. Fluttershy hiccuped about the question. She didn't know if he was asking about her physical or mental condition.

"I...don't know..." she stuttered. Her hand was pulling Ash's head down to her's. Brock and May watched with helpless stun. Apple Bloom intently viewed, wondering if this would cement her query about the concept of true love. Pikachu only peered to see if Ash was okay. A few gallons of lake water slammed onto Ash's back. Fluttershy inched her human head toward Ash's, nerves coursing through her human body. You think if she was a pony, the same thing would apply in this situation? Fluttershy wasn't acting as shy as when she saw her current form. And...a fishing rod fixed itself between the two, stopping the moment from completion. Aw, come on! Looking at the rod, the two on the dock spotted an old, gray-haired man in a fuchsia Japanese kimono.

"That was one powerful Surf attack from Nero, huh?" he noted. "At least you two are okay." Apple Bloom was upset. This old man stopped what would've been a romantic moment. May wiped the nervous sweat from her forehead, thankful that someone stopped those two before they had any further ideas. Brock didn't change. Despite this old man stopping these two, he felt that Ash was getting the love more than him. Wait until he learns about the relationship between Max and Pinkie Pie. Ash got up and helped Fluttershy to her feet as well.

"Nero?" she asked.

"Indeed. Nero is that giant Whiscash that resides in this lake. I've tried to capture Nero for 50 years. And in those 50 years, I, Sullivan, have perfected every fishing technique there is. I am like a fishing legend, perhaps...a god!" Boastful, wasn't he? Apple Bloom could learn a thing or two from this guy. Remember the first chapter when she and the other Cutie Mark Crusaders were going to fish? However, instead of insight...

"50 years and this Whiscash has eluded you?" she kindly insulted. "You'd have an easier time catching a cold than Nero!" Sullivan was shocked that someone would criticize his credibility. He crouched in a standing fetal position, biting the critic's words.

"What a way to inflict harm to a god...I mean a guy." Just because of one comment? Wow, low standards! Fluttershy came forward, wondering if he was okay.

"Mr. Sullivan, are you okay?" she questioned. "Apple Bloom didn't mean to hurt your feelings." Yeah, it may have been her choice of words. Still, Sullivan grumbled at the accidental teasing of his long career.

"I could have offered you lessons to fishing...but..." Ash decided to cheer him up.

"Don't feel down, Sullivan!" he eagerly urged the "fishing god" to look at him. "A fishing legend like you remembers the best and can't be brought down by single comment, right?" The others chose to chime in...with one word.

"Legend!" they chanted. That brought a smile... a ridiculously huge smile on Sullivan's face.

"Well..." he beamed. "You're right, kid! I can't be held back! I'll get Nero, even if it means putting my reputation on the line!" That's when he faced Fluttershy. The reason would be considered obvious. "Actually, I came over when I saw her and Nero talking like they were friends visiting on occasion. I've never seen someone who could communicate with Pokémon like Nero and it intrigued me to come on over." So, that's why he came over to see the kids: Fluttershy and Nero. That had the boys skeptic about his approach.

"So, are you asking if we could relinquish Fluttershy for you to lure Nero out of the lake?" Brock pondered. Sullivan huffed, much of the ploy being exaggerated.

"Don't overuse my reasons. I just want to see how this girl is able to make even the toughest Pokémon listen to her." Fluttershy felt cornered, even more than Twilight when she was visited by Luna.

"I-uh...I don't know if..." she stuttered more but Ash decided to intervene.

"You can't use her!" he refused. Sullivan was surprised to see resistance to his wish.

"B-But...why not?" he gasped. Ash's eyes glared at the "fishing god" with piercing determination to deny the request.

"Look, Fluttershy's talent isn't for sale. A legend like you doesn't need low-based tactics like having her goad Nero from hiding. Yes, she understands Pokémon but that's her own, not someone they can simply borrow." May and Pikachu were astonished with Ash standing up for Fluttershy...and he did have a point about Sullivan's title that he shouldn't use others to do his work. What "legend" needs help from others when he's turned techniques into a work of art?

"He's got a point," May supported. "Fluttershy's talent is sacred. We respect that it remains her own." It seemed that even May preferred Fluttershy to be with them for a while. Sullivan acted defeated. They were much younger than him but they knew better than to use abilities outside their own to achieve what they're after.

"I see," he submitted. "I guess I got a little carried away when I saw her and Nero together. And I apologize for breaking your kiss, girl." That made Brock a little...overreacting.

"It WAS a kiss?" he bellowed a gasp. Man, settle down, Brock. It's no big deal. "I'm older! I need to be kissed before he does!" May, Apple Bloom and Pikachu sighed a laugh, humored by Brock's jealousy. Someone get Brock a girlfriend. Suddenly, a flash alerted all. Turning, Brock got his first experience of ponies _as_ ponies, including Max who stood by Pinkie Pie. Twilight, Rainbow, Rarity and Applejack also joined alone with a large white combination of Pegasus and Unicorn with different colors for her long flowing mane. She also wore a crown above her horn and there was a sun by her tail. Fluttershy saw the pony, immediately noticing her.

"Princess Celestia?" she identified as she bowed to a knee in respect. What could this mean? Was Fluttershy returning home? And what plan did Team Rocket have for this? Their plan in the next chapter.

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED...


	7. Elements of a New Form

_Chapter 7: Elements of a New Form_

* * *

Ash, May, Brock, Sullivan, Fluttershy, Apple Bloom and the Pokémon were meeting the other ponies, including Princess Celestia. This would be considered the first time a member of Canterlot royalty was meeting humans, let alone one that was once a pony herself. However, a couple of adult humans were ready to stir the royal union with Meowth in tow. "You know what they say, patience is a virtue," Jessie sneered while hiding in a far bush with the other two. "Now we can take those creatures and force the twerp to hand her and Pikachu over!" She was so bent on getting Pikachu and Fluttershy that nothing else, not even someone pointing a high-powered shotgun to her skull would be ignored. James and Meowth were rather focused on Celestia, a pony they didn't see when observing them back at the Pokémon Center.

"If my ears picked dem up correctly, the pinkie twerpette just called that new horse, Princess," the Alley Cat Pokémon believed.

"I think one princess could be better than a whole group of ponies," James agreed. "With the princess in our clutches, those twerps are sure to fork over what we need." What's with the swerve all of a sudden? The boys didn't really approve of the plan which involved the ponies. Perhaps it's the princess that came into view.

"Prepare the claws," Jessie ordered. "We've got a few ponies to wrangle up." They dipped back into hiding. For Brock, this was the first time seeing the ponies as ponies, not humans.

"Fluttershy, that is you, isn't it?" Celestia wondered. Fluttershy was ready to acknowledge Celestia, summoning up her courage to speak to the princess.

"It _is_ me, Princess Celestia," she replied. Celestia was pretty astonished to see one of her ponies in a new form. Still, she retained her composure.

"I did receive your letter about your recent discovery. Although it does concern me that an unfamiliar form may pose difficulty should the moment rise which you would need the Elements of Harmony." Fluttershy shuttered, wondering of these Elements would still work even at human form. Ash came forward to introduce himself and the situation.

"Excuse me, princess," he spoke up, having Celestia turn to him. "I may not know about these Elements of Harmony, but I highly doubt that it won't be a problem using it as a pony or a human." Celestia was pretty skeptic with Ash's explanation. To him, any form was irrelevant if it meant using the Elements.

"I do have my doubts. When Fluttershy entered this world by a magic book missing from Canterlot's library, she lost her ability to fly." True enough, Fluttershy seemed ashamed. Applejack felt that she needed to support her fellow filly.

"Princess, I cannot use magic like Twilight and I can't fly like Rainbow Dash," she neighed. "But the Elements still work for me." Celestia listened, still not swayed with Applejack's point. She had a significant reason.

"The Elements of Harmony is a powerful but sensitive artifact, and I'm very worried that the Elements won't recognize a pony should they attain a different form like the one Fluttershy is at the moment." Fluttershy and Apple Bloom flinched, thinking that the danger would not be in check if Fluttershy obtained the Elements in her human shape.

"I never thought there would be problems by becoming human," she murmured. Celestia wanted to forgive her for her reasons staying in the Pokémon world after deciding to stay when she had her primary opportunity to return to Equestria.

"You are not in any trouble and I understand the concept of why you wanted to be in that world." The pink-haired sighed in relief. Forgiveness. Then, Celestia's eyes shifted to Ash with an uneasy glare, spooking the trainer.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" he questioned with a hint of nervousness. Celestia was scheming something. What about Team Rocket?

"Can I use my magic across this portal, Twilight Sparkle?" Twilight thought back to when Rainbow poked fun at Pikachu and paid for it with a Thunderbolt. It should be able to work both ways.

"Give it a try," she offered. Celestia's horn began to glow a gold light before she pointed her horn to Ash. Ash's head began to glow the same gold. At that moment, Celestia was seeing replays of Ash protecting the Pokémon from earlier before he met Fluttershy. All sorts of Pokémon Ash was guarding, including his Pikachu. Then came times with Fluttershy and how close he was with keeping her safe from Team Rocket. A few minutes after it began, Celestia ceased the glowing. She smiled sincerely at Ash who had a befuddled look on him.

"Okay, what was that just now?" he wondered. Pinkie Pie and Max were also interested with what Celestia found.

"What did you find out about Ash, Princess?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"This boy has gone to great lengths to protect the creatures of that world and kept Fluttershy safe," she explained. "He could be worthy enough to be a member of the royal guard." A nervous smirk painted Ash. What, never received a compliment from a princess? Sullivan patted Ash on the shoulder, praising Ash's good past.

"Now how often does a princess compliment your hard work over the years?" he teased. Fluttershy giggled a little but the fun was about to be cut short. A claw sprung out from the trees and snagged Apple Bloom, startling everyone.

"AH!" she yelped as she was being taken hostage. All Applejack could do was call for her.

"Apple Bloom!" she screeched. The humans used the claw and guided down to Team Rocket. Needless to say that Ash wasn't happy.

"You release Apple Bloom right now, Team Rocket!" he demanded. Jessie could care less about the tone Ash roared out.

"Are you forgetting that we're the adults in this scenario?" she mocked. "If you wanna save this tiny pony twerp, hand over the girl and your Pikachu!" Ash couldn't gamble on losing Apple Bloom, Fluttershy or Pikachu. Apparently, they forgot about a certain Pokémon in the pond. Nero sprung from the lake and fired a stream of water, a bull's-eye to the joint of the claw. The claw buckled and released Apple Bloom where she scampered all the way back into Equestria, back to her pony form.

"You okay, sis?" Applejack asked.

"Am, now!" Apple Bloom answered to her big sister's relief. Fluttershy was glad that Apple Bloom was out of danger, turning to the Whiscash that saved her.

"Thank you, Nero," she praised. Nero was proud of his rescue. Jessie was ticked off.

"So it's not only the twerps and the herd of talking horses but that huge Whiscash?" she judged all against her.

"It's not over yet!" Meowth tried to reason, his big Meowth alerting Rarity. "We still have seven more claws to wrangle the other horses!" The thought nearly blew passed Jessie.

"Oh, yeah." Picking up a controller, Jessie activated the other claws, no doubt meant for the other ponies to grab.

"It seems those vile humans want to ensnare us in their little game," she seethed. The claws lunged toward the portal right at Celestia.

"Not so fast, Team Rocket!" Max denied as he leaped into the path of the claws. A claw caught Max but the momentum launched the claw into other claws, knocking them out of the pathways. It also propelled Max through the portal where he's reverted back to human. Pinkie Pie wasn't worried that Max was back to his normal body. She was frantic about his health.

"Max!" she neighed. Ash saw his little buddy in trouble.

"Pikachu, use Iron Tail to break Max free!" Ash instructed. Pikachu leaped up, smacking the arm to the claw with a white glowing tail. The swipe broke the arm into pieces and Jessie was... Jessie? Hello! Earth to Jessie! Why was she looking spaced out?

"Hold on a second..." she began to realize. "When someone enters the portal, they turn into a horse? When someone exits it, they turn into human?" She finally figured out the trade-off about the portals fixed between the Pokémon World and Equestria.

"That's what we've been trying to explain to you the other day," Meowth backtracked. Talk about feeling stupid, Jessie had blown off the problem of what could happen if she actually succeeded in taking the ponies. Then again, the fact that one of those was a princess may have clouded their dim judgment further. So what's the plan now, Jessie?

"Thanks, Ash," Max praised. Sullivan stepped up as Max and Fluttershy got to Ash's side.

"I can take care of a simple machine," he growled. "Hannah, go!" He threw a red/white ball and out popped a pink sheep that stood on it's hind legs. This was a new creature that Ash brought out his device to scan.

"I think that's a Flaaffy." Let's see what the device read.

"Flaaffy, the Wool Pokémon," it identified. "Flaaffy is the evolved form of Mareep. Because of it's rubber-like skin under the wool, Flaaffy isn't effected by the electricity stored in it's wool." Sullivan and his Flaaffy, Hannah, were ready to fight.

"I was meaning to use Hannah to capture Nero but this is a good workout for the opportunity!" he grinned. "Hannah, Thundershock!" Hannah shot out volts of electricity, zapping the controls of the machine. Nero emerged with a glowing blue orb. Brock recognized the attack.

"Nero's using Water Pulse!" he noticed. Nero fired the Water Pulse from the whiskers which destroyed the arms. The machine blew up with a Thunderbolt from Pikachu. There goes the plan to capture the ponies. This would be a good time for Team Rocket to retreat. However, the team emerged on a hot air balloon with Meowth's inflated ego carrying them...scratch that, it's just a head. Under the basket, two more armed claws. Were they on discount in a nearby mechanical store? Realizing the danger, Celestia brought forth a strange book. Rarity saw what it was.

"Are you sure you wanna use the Elements of Harmony, Princess Celestia?" she questioned.

"Despite my doubts, I'm willing to try and summon the Elements of Harmony," Celestia gambled. "We need to purge these 'minions' from those willing to protect." Rainbow opened the case and pulled out a gold necklace with a pink gem in the shape of a butterfly.

"Fluttershy, catch!" she yelled as she flung the necklace to their humanoid friend. She slipped the necklace around her neck as did Rainbow,Applejack, Pinkie Pie and Rarity. Twilight dressed a gold tiara crown that had a magenta star gem above. What, Celestia doesn't get one? Neither Spike?

"Keep the portal open, princess," Twilight instructed. The five ponies leaped into the portal and became humans. Rainbow turned from a sky blue Pegasus pony into a rather young woman with the same rainbow hair and wearing a sky blue basketball jersey with her cutie mark imprinted to go along with sky blue basketball shorts. Her necklace had a ruby lightning bolt. Applejack's was still blond with a ponytail, no pun intended. She wore an orange button-down blouse with jeans shorts and cowgirl boots. Apples were tattooed to her thighs and an orange apple gen was on her necklace. Pinkie Pie was donning a pink t-shirt which had her balloons cutie mark, a pink frilly skirt and pink tennis shoes. The only thing _not_ pink was her sapphire balloon gem. Rarity wore a white dress down to her knees and wore stylish white boots while her unicorn horn was now hanging as a necklace on it's own under the gold one which had a violet diamond gem. Twilight was wearing a violet school vest to go along with a violet plaid skirt, violet knee socks and loafers. She also wore her unicorn horn as a necklace. Seeing what she was now dressed in, Rarity got ecstatic.

"This is beyond belief!" she gasped in delight. "This gown is simply marvelous!" Rarity, there are more pressing matters that need tending.

"I guess being a human isn't rotten at all," Applejack studied her new look. "I look like someone who can wrastle a few cattle!" Guess being human was an enjoyment. Twilight saw the hands, knowing that they had to act.

"Okay, every pony!" she called...just forgetting that there were no ponies except for back with the Cutie Mark Crusaders and Celestia. "I mean...everyone! Combine Elements!" The gems were glowing. The Elements of Harmony did recognize their wearers.

"Element of...Honesty!" Applejack summoned as an orange light emerged.

"Element of...Kindness!" Fluttershy called forth, lighting a pink shine.

"Element of...Laughter!" Pinkie Pie chirped, a blue light flashed.

"Element of...Generosity!" Rarity echoed with a violet glow emanating from her.

"Element of...Loyalty!" Rainbow chanted while a red shine emitted. The five colored lights shot at Twilight's tiara. Twilight's focus eyed Pikachu.

"Ash, provide me a little yellow light!" she requested. Ash wondered why Twilight wanted a yellow light, less know why she gazed at Pikachu. Whatever it was, he had to trust her word.

"Okay!" he replied. "Pikachu, Thunderbolt!" Pikachu fired a Thunderbolt which hit Twilight...but wasn't shocking her. Instead, the tiara absorbed the lightning, transmitting it into a light which swirled around the other girls in a rainbow shield. Team Rocket watched in awe, not realizing their demise.

"Whether you battle with our favorite colt or us, forever you will be defeated and your organization shall fall! After all, we're all friends...and friendship is magic!" She summoned a wave of color up at the balloon as the arms lunged out. When they collided, the colors sheared through the arms, destroying it while flying up to the balloon. The colors consumed the balloon in a flashy rainbow tornado, spinning the balloon and turning Team Rocket topsy-turvy. Finally, the rainbow collapsed in, crushing the machine, the balloon and the Rockets before...KABOOM! That was a huge blast as the colors destroyed what was in the sky...but Team Rocket. They were sent flying.

"Elements of Harmony, huh?" James calmly reflected.

"More like Elements of...Getting Your Tail Kicked!" Meowth snarled loudly.

"Guess we were horsing around the idea a bit much," Jessie punned, something Meowth wanted to scratch her for.

"I want to use my Fury Swipes on you but we've already been pun-ished enough!" Finally they were sailing over the mountains.

"Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!" they yelled in unison. All watched Team Rocket fade away, happy to get rid of such annoyances. The ponies...uh, the girls were glad that they didn't have to face those guys again. Fluttershy smiled as she looked toward Celestia. Perhaps she wanted to go home and check on Angel and the others in her vacant cottage. Would she want Ash to join? And what about the other girls?

* * *

TO BE CONCLUDED...


	8. The Sun Pony's Blessing

_Chapter 8/Final: The Sun Pony's Blessing_

* * *

The heroes and ponies were winding down since ousting Team Rocket from their attempt to steal Fluttershy from them. For Fluttershy, she was important to everyone from her pony friends to her human and Pokémon friends. Now, her concern was about to be on her animals back home. The ponies were still trying to get use to being humans, even Twilight who removed the tiara from her head. "Well, that was a first," she giggled. "I didn't think the Elements of Harmony would still work as humans." A remarkable feat made possible by Celestia's wishes. Pinkie Pie was enjoying her time being human. Heck, she looked like she was once a human before being a pony.

"I'm enjoying this more than the last party the princess invited us to!" she cheered. It was something the Cutie Mark Crusaders sighed. Nothing could bring Pinkie Pie down from this high, even when kneeling to Max. "I can actually do things I normally couldn't do as a pony, especially this!" She wrapped her arms around to hug and kiss Max right in front of Brock. He had a glum mug, upset that someone younger. Max blushed heavily at the affection of Pinkie Pie.

"Aw, my little brother's adored by a girl," May teased. Pikachu giggled at Max's fortune. Fluttershy watched with a smile as well before turning her bright red cheeks to Ash. Then inexplicably, she frowned as she saw Ash talking with Applejack and Rainbow. Did Ash appreciate either of those ponies over her? Twilight saw the face of her friend, concerned that her heart was broken by who she apparently admired.

"Fluttershy?" she called. Fluttershy turned to the pony/girl who she felt comfortable back in Ponyville. "What's wrong?" Fluttershy watched Ash laughing at something Rainbow seemed to be joking about. Finally, she closed her eyes.

"I may have to say goodbye," she reluctantly answered. "My pony heart's telling me to stay with Ash...but I know that Angel and the other animal friends deserve my attention." Conflict. Her mind wanted to return and tend to the animals back at her cottage but her heart wanted Ash. Her head seemed to be winning the personal fight. "And when I do return, I may never see Ash again." A tear trickled down Fluttershy's face. She didn't want to leave but knew that her friends were just as important.

"You know, you can always come back here." That news stoked Fluttershy. She was getting worried over nothing...somewhat.

"Princess Celestia won't block us from access here?"

"These humans are creatures we can depend on in times of need," Celestia expressed. "Perhaps it was fate that brought the misplaced spell book to you and fate that brought Fluttershy to this world of humans and creatures. These humans have shown the care you've shown to your bunnies, birds, otters and what-not by your cottage." If anything, Fluttershy could visit him whenever she can without repercussion. Even the Cutie Mark Crusaders wonder if this could also apply to them as well.

"Does that mean we can go to their world, too?" Sweetie Belle asked. Twilight smiled, no big deal to her.

"Of course," she answered. "But you need to earn that trust if you want access." The crusaders groaned, feeling rather dejected. What, finding that lost spell book not enough? Oh, wait. That caused the problems in the first place. Ash and Pikachu came over to the girls in the discussion.

"So, what's the conversation all about?" he wondered. Fluttershy, slightly timid to admit, faced Ash.

"Well, I want to head back to Ponyville to check on the animals," she sadly muttered. Pikachu hiccuped at the news.

("You're going away from us, Fluttershy?") he squeaked.

"I'm afraid so." Twilight only needed a couple seconds to wonder how Fluttershy was able to understand Ash's Pokémon.

"I'm taking a crack at this and say that your dedication to those animals helped you understand this cute mouse," she teased. Fluttershy huffed a sigh, found out.

("I would like to see your animals,") Pikachu wished, interested in seeing who Fluttershy raised. Fluttershy was embarrassed to hear Pikachu's interests with what she had before she gawked at a sight involving...Brock and Rarity?

"You're not the only one who's interested with each other," she pointed out at Rarity making examinations on Brock.

"I must say that this coat is slightly stylish," she judged the brown light jacket worn by the breeder. "And being one that travels all around this world would need to make sure they're organized for any occasion. However, it lacks color. A simple brown design leaves much to be desired." She wasn't serious about the wardrobe advice to someone who's more worried about the Pokémon than what he donned, was she?

"Well, keep in mind that I don't really have time for fashion updates," he tried to clarify. "And besides, how else can I store all of these than in my bag or my pockets." Brock whipped out numerous canisters, recipe slips, potions, medication, spices... Rarity was dumbstruck with how much could fit into all the pockets.

"Well, I didn't expect you to have hammer space within that drab you call a jacket. Tell you what, I'll create a jacket with more flair back in Ponyville. It'll be the first time making clothes for a man, let alone a human." Brock nervously itched his head, embarrassed by Rarity's offer. It was like Rarity was hitting on Brock. Applejack snagged Rarity by her ear and dragged her away from Brock. Poor Rarity was in pain.

"Saddle down, Sugar Cube," she nagged. "They're into seeing the next town, not fashion tip."

"But-!" May watched in familiar awe.

"Usually, someone pulls Brock away from a pretty girl, not the other way around," May pointed out with Rainbow standing by her.

"Really?" she gulped. "Who's controlling Brock's behavior?"

"Well, it was originally Misty but she's back running the Gym in Cerulean City back in Kanto. Now, it's Max. I did once."

"Well, what about Ash?" May seemed befuddled. The two glared back to Fluttershy and Ash where she was saying her goodbye.

"Thank you for everything you did for me," Fluttershy praised. "I know that you'll have a confident journey as you go through Hoenn and I wish I could join." Ash understood Fluttershy's ordeal back in Ponyville thanks to Twilight.

"That's okay," he replied with a smile. "I know how busy it's gotta be with Angel and your vet-like cottage." Fluttershy was satisfied with the agreement. Finally, Fluttershy forgot her shyness and connected her lips to his. This may have been the first time a pony has kissed a human, minding the already discovered fact that this was the first record of ponies and humans interacting with Pokémon as support.

"You know, both of them were rather shy," May awed as she, surprisingly, wasn't phased about Ash receiving a kiss. A tear trickled down Fluttershy's face and bled into the kissing lips. That's got to leave a salty aftertaste.

"I'm sorry, I don't see Shy Ash," Rainbow shrugged. Who could blame her? Ash never backed off from anything. May giggled, not wanting to share embarrassing details. Fluttershy broke her lips from Ash.

"I love you, my little colt..." she whispered as she began walking back to Celestia through the portal. Ash was stunned with Fluttershy's kiss, still tasting the rather sugary tear from her eye. When she slipped through the portal, she transformed into the Pegasus pony from the beginning. Ash finally saw who Fluttershy really was and snapped out to see her for himself. "I'll see you later." The other ponies gave their farewells with Pinkie Pie giving Max one more hug. After the six entered the portal, Twilight turned around to face Ash alongside the princess.

"Ash, we won't forget the fact that you were there when our friend disappeared," she neighed. "Hey, if anyone of us need any help, we'll come on over." Ash nodded before Celestia closed the gate. Both worlds were free of any dimensional tears. Max came over to Ash's side who was still tasting Fluttershy's tear.

"I didn't think tears were that sweet," he finally spoke. Max gawked a look to Ash, wanting to make sure what he said was what he heard.

"Ash, tears are suppose to be salty, not sweet," he clarified. Ash was certain what seeped into his mouth while locked with Fluttershy's was in fact sweet.

"I'm serious, Max. It tasted like cotton candy." What flavor?

"You sure that was her tear?" Sullivan questioned. "It could have been her lips." An interesting suggestion right there. Her lips were the sweet thing Ash had tasted, not her crying tear. Even Brock had to chuckle at that.

"Ash sure knows how to get the ladies, even if they're ponies," he teased. Hearing Brock sound nonchalant had May scratching her head. Wasn't Brock the least bit jealous? Heck, wasn't May just as jealous to her little brother getting a kiss from Pinkie Pie?

"Ash and Max both were kissed by Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie," she pointed out. "And you're not upset about it?" Brock's boast soon became utter envy.

"And you're not upset about it either?" May joined Brock in sighing defeat.

"Believe me, I am."

"Me, too." Perhaps they need to get lessons in how to get the girls, or boys in May's flustered state. Pikachu and Hannah tried to console both defeated youngsters.

"This also shows something that you two may take a little time understanding," Sullivan pointed out. "It doesn't matter if the one you love is human, a pony or Pokémon. If you can connect the hearts, it's a win for you and the significant." A lesson from the "fishing god." Even Ash had to criticize who Sullivan was.

"What are you, a fishing legend or a love legend?" he joked. Sullivan laughed.

"Maybe I should have expected that considering the wives I won by my fishing alone." The kids laughed at the antic Sullivan presented. Still, Ash wondered if what Sullivan meant was true. Could love still work despite that one is a human and the other a pony? Fluttershy wondered the same thing as she pranced back to her cottage. She and Applejack arrived to her home, the animals happy to see that she was okay. That included a white bunny who seemed thrilled to have Fluttershy home and hugged her reapplied hooves.

"Oh, Angel!" she greeted. "I'm alright!" Seeing all the hungry animals told Fluttershy one thing: work. "I see that the other ponies didn't try to help you while I was gone." Applejack begged to differ.

"Actually, Pinkie Pie did take care of the animals once, and so did Big Macintosh though it was funny to see him feed the birds." She and Fluttershy shared a giggle at the expense of this Big Macintosh. Finally and with Applejack's help, Fluttershy was feeding the tiny animals back at her cottage. Weeks past since Fluttershy met and fell in love with Ash. As the time elapsed, the animals were shocked to see their caretaker of a pony crying at times. She was starting to miss Ash. Even Spike saw the stained face of the Pegasus pony.

"What's the matter?" the baby dragon questioned. "You've been more and more of a mess in your mane." Fluttershy turned her messy head to the dragon on her mysterious way.

"Spike, I wonder if he ever really loves me," Fluttershy whimpered. If she referred Ash, she could only be praying for it.

"I'm sure he hasn't forgotten you. It's just that you miss him." Fluttershy hoped Spike was right about this yet she had doubts about his word. "Look, I understand that dragons aren't creatures that you fancy but if you want, we'll go see Twilight and ask if you can visit him." What other idea could Spike have if only to help convince Fluttershy? Going by his word, the two entered Twilight's home. Twilight's not around. "Uh, Twilight?"

"Yeah?" she voiced from the balcony railing above the two. Spotting Fluttershy, Twilight figured her purpose of coming to visit. "Oh, hay! Fluttershy, you're a mess! Let's clean you right up." With Spike's help, Fluttershy was primed and ready to ask.

"I'm sorry but-" Fluttershy tried to speak when Twilight's nod told her story.

"You miss your human, don't you?" A shocked Pegasus pony, Twilight's guess was on the mark. "I had actually checked on him and he and his friends actually got done with their trip around the Hoenn Region." How long ago? Fluttershy missed a lot apparently.

"I guess he had forgotten me," she assumed, thinking Ash and his encounter with the ponies were nothing but a distraction. Twilight's shake of her head said otherwise.

"Guess again. When I last saw him, he was rubbing his lips. I think that kiss is everlasting to him that I doubt anyone has ever did it as well, not even May." An uplifting moment, one Fluttershy felt was a capitalizing opportunity. "He still remembers. If you want, I can send you to see him." That's what Fluttershy wanted and he wasn't going to waste this moment.

"Thank you, Twilight." However, she wasn't the only one to want to see him.

"Hold the train to the Pokémon World," Rarity announced her invite. "I would like to travel there to find the designers who would appreciate the line of fashion I created for any great breeder." She has to have an affection for Brock. This was also breaking Spike's heart believing Rarity would prefer a human over a dragon.

"Rarity wants...Brock?" he whimpered. "Not...me?" Twilight tried to hold her laughter at Spike's demise.

"Oh, Spike!" she wanted to comfort. As preparations for the humans' world were commencing, Ash, Max and Pikachu were heading away from a city and entered a path which signed "ROUTE #1."

"Okay, I'll admit that I forgot that Normal attacks don't work on Ghost Pokémon," he confessed. "But Agatha's Gengar looked so solid that I thought a Quick Attack would work!" Max shook his head like Ash should have known better than attempt something against a type which cancels.

"Solid, perhaps," he acknowledged. "Still, to show off your training skills to a member of the Elite Four...AH! I can't wait to be a trainer and team up with Ralts again!" Why wasn't Max a trainer?

"In due time, my friend. You still have a couple years before you're eligible." As if it would relate to picking your nose, Ash was rubbing his thumb onto his lips.

"You know, her kiss wasn't that epic that you had to keep rubbing it." Realizing his habit, Ash shyly giggled and removed his hand from his face.

"Sorry, but I forgot to rub it in my match with Tyson and Agatha. Fluttershy's kiss was like a good luck charm she gave me. Not to mention that I could also remember the taste of her tear, which I gotta say is not a normal salty taste. I recall the taste of cotton candy with her tear."A sly look painted Max's face. The taste of Fluttershy must have aroused a theory.

"Does that mean you like Fluttershy's kiss? Hm?" As if interrogated, Ash surrendered with a timid smile.

"Okay, you got me and yes I did enjoy her kiss. You think I should kiss her back to make it even?"

"That might not be a bad idea. Maybe I can do the same with Pinkie Pie." Ash and Pikachu giggled as they came across a stream.

"Okay, it's a bit tricky. Watch!" Ash skipped over the bobbing rocks with ease and landed on the other side.

"Not bad, Ash! My turn!" Max leaped on the rocks, taking three-point stances to keep steady ground. Seconds later, Max reached the other side without difficulty.

"Nice~!" The boys were across. Now it was the girls' turns. No, seriously...

"Could you hold on for the rest of us?" voiced Rarity. The boys turned to their shocked surprise in the form of their human ponies.

"Rarity, Fluttershy and...Pinkie Pie?" Max gasped. Rarity was hesitant to make her attempt to cross the stream.

"It's really easy, Rarity!" Pinkie Pie entrusted. "It's nothing more than a hop, skip and jump. Watch!" Pinkie Pie skipped across the stones in the same fashion as Ash. She landed on the other side only to dive onto Max for a hug. "Maxy! Oh, I missed you!" AW!

"Easy for you to say," Rarity snarled. "You're not afraid to to get your clothes wet. If only I had your wings or Rainbow's, I wouldn't be frantic about this." Considering her wear like back those weeks ago, a mishap could do quite a bit of damage to the fabric. Fluttershy thought that she needed more time to prep her cross.

"I'll go ahead if you want," she offered.

"Thanks, Fluttershy." Fluttershy didn't have the same success as the first three. Pikachu didn't really count since he was riding Ash the whole time. She stumbled and nearly fell into the water a few times but she didn't quit until she hit the final rock. She slipped and Ash rushed in to save her from injury or soaking in the drink. Ash caught her hand and pulled her up.

"I gotcha!" he informed. Able to stand on her hind hooves...two feet, the two were eye-to-eye.

"Ash..." she shuttered. "Thank you." Ash could welcome the praise but had one of his own.

"I should be thanking you for that kiss you gave me. Really helped throughout Hoenn." Ash took a deep breath before he leaned up and...SMOOCH! Payback's sometimes a good thing, this being one of those moments. Max, Pikachu and Pinkie Pie watched, her arms draped over Max's shoulders. Fluttershy closed her eyes, imagining living with Ash as couple and having a child together. Not a tiny foal but an infant which both could take care of. Rarity also peered at the kiss from Ash, irked by his hesitant breath.

"I could swear that this was the first kiss he's actually given," she ascertained. "I guess colts of boys have a bit of a harder time bequeathing love than accepting it." Even as they broke, Ash and Fluttershy smiled. That's when Pikachu spotted the remaining pony stranded on the other side of the stream.

("Come on, Rarity!") he squeaked her over. ("No pressure!") Pikachu, why? Hindered by Pikachu's motivating confidence, Rarity made her attempt. She paused on each rock to make sure her boots were dry. Each step was unnerving to her. Finally with one more skip, she made it but she was shaken to the point of passing out.

"I don't wanna go stream skipping for as long as I live!" Pikachu was there to console her, patting her on the shoulder. Rarity petted the Pokémon in her relief.

"By the way," Max spoke to Rarity. "What are you doing here with Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie?" Rarity rose to her feet, holding Pikachu in her front hooves or arms.

"Well, I have designs for new fashions that I wanted to present to top designers for trainers' wear on both male and female." Was it really necessary, considering that Ash hasn't really changed his clothes? Or could it be for future trainers?

"Really?" Pinkie Pie doubted. "Didn't you have a thing for Brock? I mean, you did go after him after we disposed of Team Rocket." Rarity gulped, feeling cornered by the allegation.

"Y-You see, I...uh..." It's apparent why her name was Rarity and it wasn't the choice of fashion. Ash was going to correct the direction of where Brock was. If he wasn't with Ash and Max, where could he be?

"Brock went back home to Pewter City, north of here," Ash pointed out. Rarity struggled to keep her composure, even glaring back at the stream she just barely crossed. "But I'm sure you can come with us to Pallet Town. When I tell him of my next journey, he'll be here to join us." It was relief for Rarity as the white Unicorn pony/human female in white figured that she didn't really need to cross any streams she couldn't stand, even as her pony form.

"Delightful, I thank you." The humans, ponies and Pikachu journeyed down the path heading toward Pallet Town, Ash's home. As they walked, Ash's and Fluttershy's hands were held together. It didn't matter that Fluttershy was a pony, albeit a Pegasus pony, and Ash was a human. Love defies who or what we are. Ash and Fluttershy, Max and Pinkie Pie...they were just two examples that being one or the other was meaningless.

* * *

THE END


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